Saint Augustine’s University has taken over the No. 1 spot in both the men’s and women’s divisions of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Team Rankings, which were released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday, April 5, 2016.
The Falcons, who are the three-time defending men’s national champions, replaced Texas A&M University-Kingsville as the top-ranked men’s team in the nation. Texas A&M-Kingsville is second and Grand Valley State University is third. The Falcons were ranked second last week.
The Lady Falcons moved ahead of Johnson C. Smith University as the top women’s team in the country. Johnson C. Smith is second followed by Shorter University. The Lady Falcons, ranked No. 3 last week, and Johnson C. Smith give the CIAA conference the top two teams in the women’s rankings.
Both the Falcons and Lady Falcons climbed atop the rankings with stellar performances in the Florida Relays this past weekend. The Falcons recorded 10 season-best times and marks which led to 13 top-10 individual and relay rankings this week. The Lady Falcons totaled four season-high times which led to nine top-10 individual and relay rankings.
The Falcons’ men are led by Shaquille Dill (Fr./Pembroke, Bermuda) and the 4×100- and 4×400-meter relay teams. Dill ran an automatic qualifying time of 1:48.29 in the Florida Relays to hold on to his top-ranking in the 800-meter dash. The top-ranked 4×100 foursome of Brent Arceneaux (Sr./Snellville, GA), Burkheart Ellis, Jr. (Sr./Raleigh, NC), Kendall Kee (Sr./Shelby, NC) and Daniel Jamieson (Sr./Windsor, CT) ran an automatic qualifying time of 39.52 to win the college division and the top-ranked 4×400 quartet of Shawn Rowe (Jr./West Palm Beach, FL), Ellis, Khari Herbert, Jr. (Jr./Coral Springs, FL) and Dill ran an automatic qualifying time of 3:07.22. The Falcons posted five automatic qualifying times and five provisional times and marks in the Florida Relays.
The Lady Falcons are headed by Tia-Adana Belle (Sr./St. George, Barbados) and the 4×400-meter relay squad of Belle, Ade Hunter (So./Philadelphia, PA), Leah Barker (So./St. Michaels, Barbados) and Ornella Livingston (Sr./St. Ann, Jamaica). Belle tops the 400-meter hurdles list after winning the event in an automatic qualifying time of 56.34 – the world’s third-best this season. The 4×400 team is ranked first in its event after running 3:39.32. The Lady Falcons ran three automatic qualifying times and one provisional qualifying time in the Florida Relays.
Below is the list of Falcons and Lady Falcons ranked in the top 10 nationally by the USTFCCCA. To see the complete list of team and individual rankings, go to ustfccca.org.
WOMEN (Ranking, Name, Event, Time)
1 – Tia-Adana Belle (400-Meter Hurdles) – 56.34
