Cowgirls Ranked Nationally
The New Mexico Highlands University Women’s Track and Field team has climbed into the top 20 nationally in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll released Tuesday afternoon. The team began the season at #25 and had dropped out of the rankings for three weeks, but strong performances at the CSM Twilight and RMAC Championships helped propel the team to the 17 spot, the first ever top-20 ranking for the young indoor track and field program.
National team ranking points are accumulated by using season-best marks, set by teams in the 2010 indoor season through last weekend as reported to the Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). This week’s release of updated rankings for NCAA’s Division II marks the last national team rankings using all data from TFRRS. The release on March 9 will include only those declared and accepted into the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships to be held March 12-13, in Albuquerque, NM. Cowgirl Angella Graham has qualified for the national meet in five events and is ranked among the top five in the nation in the Pentathlon and Triple Jump.
“This is a big deal for our program,” said head coach Bob DeVries, “Three years ago we were dead last at the conference meet and now we are nationally ranked—it says a lot about the quality of athletes we are starting to attract and the hard work they are putting in.”
RMAC foe Adams State leads conference schools at #3 nationally while the Cowgirls are the second highest ranked team among RMAC schools.
GO COWGIRLS!