January 2014, Previous Issues

St. Aug gets top ranking

James Quarles (CIAA Indoors 2013)

 

 

Defending national champion Saint Augustine’s University is ranked first in the Preseason NCAA Division II Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rankings by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday, January 14, 2014.

The Falcons are shooting for their 13th NCAA men’s indoor title and 34th championship overall for the program this season under legendary Head Coach George Williams. The Lady Falcons are 24th in the NCAA Division II women’s rankings.

“We appreciate the ranking, but rankings don’t mean anything,” Williams said. “Championships are won on the track and field.”

Adams State and Ashland are second and third, respectively, in the men’s rankings. Lincoln (Mo.) is the top-ranked women’s team followed by Grand Valley State in second and Adams State in third.

The Falcons’ men return Moussa Dembele (Sr./Dakar, Senegal) and Jermaine Jones (Soph./Wilmington, NC), who are the defending national champions in the 60 meter hurdles and the 200 meter dash, respectively. They are two of 10 returning Falcons who scored points at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships, the most of any Division II team.

Nine Falcons and one relay team are ranked among the top 10 in their respective individual men’s events including four No. 1 rankings according to the Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). The top-ranked performers and Dembele in the 60 meter hurdles, Josh Edmonds (Sr./Jacksonville, FL) in the 400 meter dash, DeJon Wilkinson (Sr./Summerville, SC) in the long jump and the 4×400 meter relay squad of Edmonds, James Quarles (Sr./Washington, DC), Burkheart Ellis Jr. (Soph./Raleigh, NC) and Roxroy Cato (Jr.).

Wilkinson is ranked second in the triple jump and Cato is ranked second in the 400 meter dash. Ty’reak Murray (Sr./Portsmouth, VA) is ranked fourth in the 60 meter hurdles and Jones is ranked fourth in both the 60 meter and 200 meter dashes. Ellis Jr. is ranked fifth in the 400 meter dash.

David Shaw Jr. (Jr./Red Springs, NC) is ranked seventh in the triple jump and Eddie Shelton (Sr./Deltona, FL) is ranked seventh in the high jump. JaQuan Demiel (Jr./Suffolk, VA) is ranked ninth in the long jump.

Among the women, Shakinah Brooks (Fr./Raleigh, NC) is ranked second in the long jump and Fanta Fofana (Jr./Amiens, France) is ranked fifth in the 800 meter dash. Akeisha Dumont (Jr./Brooklyn, NY) is ranked sixth in the 400 meter dash and the Lady Falcons’ foursome of Dumont, Cherrisse Lynch (Jr./St. Lawrence, Barbados), Sherri-Ann Ashman (Jr./Brooklyn, NY) and Fofana are ranked fourth in the 4×400 meter relay.