Dec. 26, 2007
WACO, Texas - The Baylor men's indoor track and field team will enter the 2008 indoor track and field season as the 10th-ranked team in the nation the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced at its convention in Phoenix, Ariz. The Bears land in the association's inaugural rankings based on a strong contingent of quartermilers including Quentin Iglehart-Summers and LeJerald Betters.
Florida State (118.40) holds the nation's top spot on the men's side with Washington (109.74), Tennessee (106.58), Florida (89.81) and LSU (88.07) holding down spots in the top five. Baylor is the highest-ranked Big 12 team, standing 10th with 63.24 points, but is closely followed by No. 11 Kansas (61.64) and No. 12 Nebraska (58.35). In total, seven Big 12 teams are in the nation's preseason top 25.
The Bears received the most points from their 4x400-meter relay. Baylor's squad, which won the indoor and outdoor national championships in 2007, returns three All-Americans to this year's team.
Iglehart-Summers and Betters rank third and seventh, respectively, among returning 400 meter runners as both earned indoor All-America honors last season. Outdoor All-American J.T. Scheuerman is ranked 16th among returning quartermilers.
Sophomore Trey Harts ranks seventh in the nation in the 200 meters after earning All-America honors last season. Jacob Norman, the 2006 Indoor National Champion in the 60 meters, is ranked 23rd overall in the 60 meter dash.
The Bears and Lady Bears open the indoor season on Jan. 11 in Fayetteville, Ark. for the Arkansas Invitational. Complete results and recap can be found on BaylorBears.com.
About the USTFCCCA Rankings
The 2008 USTFCCCA Rankings for NCAA Division I squads were devised and are compiled by Tom Lewis of the University of Missouri. Each team is assigned "power points" based on each individual performance on the official NCAA-qualifying list. For the indoor season, spots one to 35 in each event on the national-descending order list receive points based on its position in the national rankings. Additional power points are assigned to each performance based on comparisons with the rest of the field in that event.
For preseason rankings, the team's total complement of national marks from the prior collegiate season, in this case the 2007 indoor season, receive consideration. Only those listed as freshmen, sophomores, and juniors on last year's list are measured. The system also uses the teams' best relay marks from the previous season.
Rankings for the indoor season, using 2008 marks, will be released each Wednesday beginning January 30. A complete rundown of the ranking method and a team-by-team breakdown can be found on ustfccca.org.
