NEW ORLEANS - The men's and women's track and field teams at Fort Hays State are both ranked in the top 25 of the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division II National Track and Field Rating Index, released Tuesday (Feb. 15). The men are slotted 12th in the latest release, while the women come in 21st this week.
The men accumulated 62.71 team points from 14 nationally-ranked performances. Ryan Stanley still leads the country in the pole vault with his school-record mark of 17-1.75, while Nolan Churchman's record total of 5,304 in the heptathlon is sixth-best nationally. Sprinter Philip Landrum is seventh in both the 60m (6.73) and the 200m (21.29). The Tigers added three new marks this week in Ethan Lang's 800m run (12th, 1:50.50) and school-record times in both the 4x400m (20th, 3:16.19) and the distance medley relay (17th, 9:49.81).
The women picked up 42.85 points across nine top-ranked marks. Lyric Holman moved up to fourth in the 60m with her school-record time of 7.45 on Saturday. She is also 18th in the 200m with a top time of 24.64. Mattie Rossi is sixth in a pair of events, including the 60m hurdles (8.60) and the pentathlon (3,670).
Both teams maintained their spot in the conference power ranks, coming in fourth for the second week in a row. The Tiger men are fifth in this week's central region rankings, while the women are eighth.
Fort Hays State has six event squads ranked in the top 10 nationally, including three from each gender. The men's pole vault group is ranked third in DII, while the heptathlon team is fourth and the 800m squad is sixth. The women's pentathlon unit is ranked second nationally, with the 60m hurdles team sitting in sixth and the high jump team coming in eighth.
With the MIAA Indoor Championships looming next weekend (Feb. 25-27), the Tigers will send athletes to a pair of meets for their final tune-ups Friday (Feb. 18). Fort Hays State will compete at both the Husker Tune-Up in Lincoln, Neb. and the Loper Tune-Up in Kearney, Neb.