PROVO -- After the past few weeks of tough competition both the men and women's track and fields team have moved up in the Trackwire 25 power rankings. The women's team is now slotted at No. 9 in the nation, projected to score 23 points at nationals and the men's team hits the list at No. 12, projected to score 17 points at nationals.
The women and men's teams come into this weeks ranking after strong performances at the Air Force Invitational, Montana State Invitational and top times by their distance squad at the University of Washington Invitational.
The Cougars are led by strong athletes on both teams. When combined, the teams have provisionally qualified at least 14 athletes to go to the NCAA National Championships in the middle of March.
The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country. This projection is generated by scoring the Dandy Dozen, a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.
The factors used to build the D12 include quantitative values that measure performances in past major competitions (such as conference championships, national championships and Olympic competition), durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events, head-to-head competition with other top athletes and personal or seasonal bests.
The Trackwire 25 for Women (including team rankings and projected national meet scores):
1. LSU, 61
2. Texas, 57
3. Florida, 49
4. Nebraska, 36
=5. UCLA, 32
=5. Tennessee, 32
7. Stanford, 31
8. Georgia, 28
9. BYU, 23
10. North Carolina 22
11. Arkansas, 20
=12. Miami, 19
=12. Colorado, 19
=14. Baylor, 18
=14. South Carolina, 18
16. Providence, 16
=17. Florida State, 13
=17. Notre Dame, 13
=19. Cal Poly, SLO, 11
=19. Georgia Tech, 11
=21. Oklahoma, 9
=21. West Virginia, 9
=23. Mississippi State, 8
=23. SMU, 8
=25. Kentucky, 7
=25. Kansas State, 7
The Trackwire 25 for Men:
1. Arkansas, 69
=2. LSU, 45
=2. Auburn, 45
4. Stanford, 31
5. Texas, 27
=6. Florida, 24
=6. Michigan, 24
8. Purdue, 21
=9. Minnesota, 20
=9. Baylor, 20
11. Ohio State, 18
12. BYU, 17
13. Tennessee, 15
14. USC, 14
15. Indiana, 13
=16. UCLA, 12
=16. Colorado, 12
=18. Arizona State, 11
=18. Nebraska, 11
=18. South Carolina, 11
=18. Wisconsin, 11
=22. Kansas, 10
=22. Texas Tech, 10
=22. Oregon, 10
=22. Oklahoma, 10
=22. Mississippi, 10
=22. Houston, 10