Women favored at track nationals; men contenders, too

Schedule  Video  When the Wayland Baptist track & field teams left town Sunday morning for the two-day bus trip to the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala., the top-ranked Pioneer women had a rather comfortable lead in the rankings.
 
That changed Monday when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released its latest rankings, showing Wayland holding the slimmest of leads – one point – over two-time defending national champion Indiana Tech. Rounding out the top five are No. 3 Doane, Neb., No. 4 Concordia, Neb., and No. 5 Oklahoma Baptist.
 
Wayland coach Rohan Thompson knew the lead his women's team held in the previous rankings was a bit much.
 
"Those rankings can be a bit deceiving. We think we're better than that on the men, and I don't know if we (should hold) as wide of a gap on the women," Thompson said prior to the latest rankings in which Wayland and Indiana Tech are virtually tied for the No. 1 spot on the women's side and in which Wayland is ranked fourth on the men's side.
 
Competition gets under way at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium on Thursday. The championships will be streamed live, available for $10 for all three days. For more information, go to www.NAIANetwork.com. Live results also are available through a link at www.wbuathletics.com.
 
"We're excited and ready to go. We think we have a pretty good shot on both sides," Thompson said. "We feel we have a really good shot at winning as long as we take care of business I think we'll be all right, understanding that at every national meet every team has something that goes wrong."
 
The key is to limit those errors and don't dwell on them, and Thompson feels the Pioneers will do that.
 
"I think our athletes are mentally and physically prepared to get it done."
 
Another key to winning a title, the coach added, is everyone doing their part.
 
"Our success will rely on no individual but, really, the team. I know that's a cliche that's said often, but this is one of those circumstances where the team is so important. We rely on everybody. Everybody on the bus has a really big role to play in our success."
 
As has been the case in recent years, Wayland must rely on the quality of its entries over the quantity of Indiana Tech and other teams.
 
Indiana Tech has a substantial advantage of Wayland in terms of overall championship meet entries – 29 to 19 – but the Pioneers make the most of their fewer entries. Of Wayland's 19 entries, nine enter the national championships seeded first, second or third in their respective events, including five top seeds. Indiana Tech has four top-three-seeded entries.
 
Taking top seeds to Alabama are Rochene Smith in the 100 and 200 meters and Bianca Farrington in the 400, as well as the 4x100 relay of Kesley Gittens, Alexis Browner, Gregria Higgs and Smith, and the 4x400 relay of Smith, Farrington, Gittens and Browner. In addition, Browner is seeded second in the 100 and 200 and Higgs is third in the 100, giving Wayland the top three seeds in that event.
 
According to the USTFCCCA web site, "The team title battle ultimately boils down to this: Will Wayland Baptist's top seeds all live up to their billing? Or will Indiana Tech's phalanx of slightly lower-ranked athletes outperform their seeds?"
 
The Wayland women are aiming for what would be their first outdoor title since winning back-to-back in 2008 and 2009. The Pioneers finished eighth last year.
 
At this year's indoor national championships in Geneva, Ohio, Wayland was third with 73 points, just six behind runner-up Indiana Tech. OBU won it with 87 points.
 
The Pioneer men have more work to do if they are to earn what would be their second-ever outdoor title, following the first in 2010.
 
The two-time defending champion Indiana Tech men – with a whopping 25 entries – are projected as heavy favorites. Nearly 100 computer points separates the Warriors from No. 2 Oklahoma Baptist. Third-ranked Concordia (Neb.) and No. 4 Wayland figure to make a hard charge for top-three team honors.
 
The Pioneers show 16 entries on the men's side, including four top seeds in Kabroderan Handsborough in the 100, Benard Keter in the 3,000 steeplechase and the 10,000, and the 4x100 relay of Nicholas Lewis, Handsborough, Justin Scruggs and Devon Sanders. Additionally, Scruggs is seeded No. 2 in the 100.
 
Wayland was edged by Indiana Tech for the 2015 indoor title as the Warriors finished with 76 points compared to the Pioneers' 71. It was the third-straight runner-up finish for WBU since the school's last track and field team title in 2012.
 
"We're looking forward to a wonderful meet," Thompson said. "We're looking forward to having fun and performing to the best of our ability."