Arkansas Leads Men's Pre-season Dual Meet Rankings

Arkansas Leads Men's Pre-season Dual Meet Rankings

Jan 9, 2013 by Jesse Squire
Arkansas Leads Men's Pre-season Dual Meet Rankings

The Arkansas Razorbacks lead the pre-season edition of Track and Field News magazine's men's indoor collegiate dual meet rankings, ahead of SEC rivals Texas A&M.

 

Collegiate dual meets, once the backbone of the collegiate track and fied season, nearly disappeared in the '90s and '00s but are now enjoying a bit of a renaissance, and with that growth in interest, the rankings have returned to Track and Field News.  They rate teams according to their ability to compete in dual meets.

 

The full top ten ranking:

 

1.  Arkansas

2.  Texas A&M

3.  Texas

4.  Nebraska

5.  Michigan

6.  North Carolina

7.  Akron

8.  LSU

9.  Oklahoma

10.  Indiana State

 

For more, go to TrackandFieldNews.com.

 

The season is set to kick off with a bang this Friday evening, when #3 Texas travels to #1 Arkansas.  Just eight days later, the top-ranked Hogs and #8 LSU go to #2 Texas A&M for a tri-meet.  These two meets will almost certainly determine the men's indoor national champions.

 

The SEC leads the rankings with three entries (Arkansas, Texas A&M, and LSU), followed by the Big 12 (Texas and Oklahoma) and Big Ten (Nebraska and Michigan) with two each.  The Atlantic Coast, Mid-American and Missouri Valley Conferences each have a lone representative.

 

To be considered for the indoor rankings, a team must compete in at least one dual meet during the indoor season, using TFN's definition of a dual meet as a scored meet between four or fewer teams.  Rankings will be kept during the outdoor season for a combined indoor/outdoor season.

 

The next men's indoor rankings will be released on Wednesday, January 23.  The next women's indoor rankings will be released on Wednesday, January 15.  Each will recognize the top twenty teams.

 

Here is a list of meets involving one or more ranked teams scheduled to take place before the next men's ranking release:

 

January 11

#3 Texas at #1 Arkansas

#7 Akron and Buffalo at Eastern Michigan

 

January 12

Illinois State at #10 Indiana State (Coughlan-Malloy Cup)

 

January 18

Kent State at #7 Akron

 

January 19

#1 Arkansas and #8 LSU at #2 Texas A&M

#10 Indiana State at Purdue (Gene Edmonds Cup)

Grambling, UT Arlington and North Texas at #9 Oklahoma (J.D. Martin Invitational Duals)

 

TFN's dual meet rankings, compiled by Jesse Squire (www.tracksuperfan.com) are a revival of annual rankings compiled from 1970 to 1995.  Last year's men's champions for the combined indoor/outdoor season were the Oregon Ducks.  A full compilation of past dual meet rankings can be found at tracksuperfan.com.