NAIA Rankings Announced

The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the first NAIA national rankings for the 2020 indoor track & field season on Wednesday.

 The Koalas came in ranked 24th in the nation, the highest ever in program history. With that said, it's also the first time the Koalas have been ranked in the top 25 in the national poll. Last year the Koalas open the indoor season ranked 38th, and they opened the 2018 season ranked 30th.

 In order to contribute points to their team's national ranking score, an athlete must be ranked in the top 35 nationally in their respective event. The Koalas that contributed were as follows:

 Kelsey White-Kennedy (60 Meter Hurdles)

Brittany Robbins (3000 Meter Racewalk)

Courtney Lambert (Pentathlon)

Shelby Winn (3000 Meter Racewalk)

Amber Bell (400 Meter Dash)

Hannah Mishkoff (3000 Meter Racewalk)

Aleah Bromell (Shot Put)

Victoria Heiser-Whatley (3000 Meter Racewalk)

Jessica Heiser-Whatley (3000 Meter Racewalk)

Gabrielle Huggins (3000 Meter Racewalk)

Grace Wright, Gabrielle Huggins, Victoria & Jessica Heiser-Whatley (4x800 Meter Relay)

 "I'm so proud of these young ladies," said Head Coach Justin Bishop. "The program is moving in a new direction. We're sending the most qualifiers to nationals ever this year and hope to make some noise on the national stage, and bring home some All-Americans."

 The Koalas are 3 weeks away from the Appalachian Athletic Conference championship meet. They hope to claim their 3rd straight indoor track & field conference title before moving on to the NAIA National Championship meet in Brookings, SD.

 The track & field team's next meet is this Sunday at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC for the Mondo Challenge Invitational.

 The official ranking press release can be found here:  http://www.ustfccca.org/2020/01/featured/2020-naia-womens-indoor-track-field-rating-index-week-1