College Power Rankings

Not much has changed at the top since last week. Powerful performances by LSU and Texas A&M at the Penn Relays prove why they're at the top of the rankings for both men and women.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for May 4, 2011
(last week's ranking in parenthesis)
1. Texas A&M (1)
2. LSU (2)
3. Florida (4)
4. Florida State (3)
5. BYU (9)
6. Texas (5)
7. Arkansas (6)
8. Stanford (20)
9. Minnesota (7)
10. Nebraska (12)
11. Oregon (11)
12. Wisconsin (14)
13. Texas Tech (13)
14. Virginia Tech (10)
15. UCLA (15) - beat Southern Cal
16. Southern Cal (8) - lost to UCLA
17. Arizona State (16) - beat Arizona and Northern Arizona
18. Georgia (17)
19. Arizona (22) - lost to Arizona State, beat Northern Arizona
20. Indiana (18)
21. Ohio State (21)
22. Oklahoma (24)
23. Washington (19) - beat Washington State
24. Iowa (23)
25. Penn State (NR)
Close, but not quite: Air Force, Akron, Baylor, Cornell, Houston, Mississippi St., New Mexico, North Carolina, Princeton, Washington St.

The big movement upward was made by Stanford. This is partly due to me still tinkering with the formula, but also because they ran some pretty good times at the Cardinal Invitational.

The big movement downward was made by Southern Cal, who lost at home to UCLA.


The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for May 4, 2011
(last week's ranking in parenthesis)
1. Texas A&M (1)
2. LSU (2)
3. Oregon (3)
4. Arkansas (5)
5. Nebraska (7)
6. Clemson (4)
7. Texas (6)
8. Oklahoma (9)
9. Arizona State (11) - beat Arizona and Northern Arizona
10. Arizona (8) - lost to Arizona State, beat Northern Arizona
11. Stanford (14)
12. Florida State (10)
13. Southern Cal (15) - beat UCLA
14. Texas Tech (12)
15. BYU (13)
16. Tennessee (17)
17. Penn State (20)
18. Georgia (18)
19. North Carolina (16)
20. Ohio State (19)
21. California (22)
22. Auburn (24)
23. Florida (NR)
24. Indiana (25)
25. Central Florida (21)
Close, but not quite: Baylor, Duke, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Sacramento St., South Carolina, Southern Illinois

College Power Rankings

This week's college power rankings show no movement at the top, but some shakeups below that.  The big winners were the teams that did well at the ACC Championships.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for April 27, 2011
(last week's ranking in parenthesis)
1. Texas A&M (1)
2. LSU (3)
3. Florida State (6)
4. Florida (2)
5. Texas (4)
6. Arkansas (10)
7. Minnesota (5)
8. Southern Cal (7)
9. BYU (9)
10. Virginia Tech (21)
11. Oregon (8)
12. Nebraska (11)
13. Texas Tech (15)
14. Wisconsin (13)
15. UCLA (12)
16. Arizona State (17)
17. Georgia (16)
18. Indiana (18)
19. Washington (22)
20. Stanford (14)
21. Ohio State (20)
22. Arizona (19)
23. Iowa (23)
24. Oklahoma (24)
25. Princeton (25)
Close, but not quite: Air Force, Akron, California, Cornell, Houston, Mississippi St., New Mexico, North Carolina, Penn State, Washington St.

ACC Champions Florida State moves strongly into third.

This week there are some good dual meets. On Saturday Washington State goes to #18 Washington and #22 Arizona goes to #16 Arizona State, and on Sunday is the big one as #15 UCLA goes to #8 Southern Cal.


The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for April 27, 2011
(last week's ranking in parenthesis)
1. Texas A&M (1)
2. LSU (2)
3. Oregon (3)
4. Clemson (9)
5. Arkansas (4)
6. Texas (5)
7. Nebraska (7)
8. Arizona (6)
9. Oklahoma (8)
10. Florida State (15)
11. Arizona State (10)
12. Texas Tech (13)
13. BYU (12)
14. Stanford (14)
15. Southern Cal (11)
16. North Carolina (NR)
17. Tennessee (16)
18. Georgia (17)
19. Ohio State (18)
20. Penn State (19)
21. UCF (20)
22. California (25)
23. Minnesota (21)
24. Auburn (23)
25. Indiana (NR)
Close, but not quite: Baylor, Florida, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Southern Illinois, UCLA, Wichita State

Again, the big move up was by the ACC Champions, Clemson. Florida State and North Carolina moved up in a big way as well.

The big scored-meet showdown this weekend is between #8 Arizona and #11 Arizona State in their annual double-dual with Northern Arizona.

College Power Rankings: Women

There's a new Number One in the rankings.

For the first time since January, Oregon is not the #1 team.  This week that honor goes to the Aggies of Texas A&M, matching the #1 ranking of their men's team.

The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for April 19, 2011
last week's ranking in parenthesis
1. Texas A&M (2)
2. LSU (3)
3. Oregon (1)
4. Arkansas (5)
5. Texas (4)
6. Arizona (8)
7. Nebraska (6)
8. Oklahoma (10)
9. Clemson (7)
10. Arizona State (13)
11. Southern Cal (9)
12. BYU (14)
13. Texas Tech (12)
14. Stanford (18)
15. Florida State (11)
16. Tennessee (16)
17. Georgia (17)
18. Ohio State (15)
19. Penn State (19)
20. UCF (24)
21. Minnesota (21)
22. Florida (NR)
23. Auburn (NR)
24. South Carolina (20)
25. California (NR)
Close, but not quite: Baylor, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, Ole Miss, UCLA, Wichita State

As the indoor season fades further into the past, Oregon's dominance of that portion of the year becomes less and less important.  A&M dominates the current portion of the year.

Major scored-meet action this weekend included Stanford beating Cal, and Indiana winning a quad.

Scored-meet action coming up this week includes the ACC Championships (with #9 Clemson and #15 Florida State) and Missouri at #17 Georgia.

College Power Rankings: Men

The top team stays the same, but there’s some shuffling behind them.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for April 19, 2011
last week's ranking in parenthesis
1. Texas A&M (1)
2. Florida (3)
3. LSU (2)
4. Texas (6)
5. Minnesota (13)
6. Florida State (4)
7. Southern Cal (7)
8. Oregon (9)
9. BYU (8)
10. Arkansas (5)
11. Nebraska (10)
12. UCLA (12)
13. Wisconsin (17)
14. Stanford (21)
15. Texas Tech (24)
16. Georgia (23)
17. Arizona State (16)
18. Indiana (11)
19. Arizona (19)
20. Ohio State (22)
21. Virginia Tech (14)
22. Washington (15)
23. Iowa (18)
24. Oklahoma (NR)
25. Princeton (20)
Close, but not quite: Air Force, Akron, Cal, Houston, Mississippi State, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Washington State

Florida had a stronger weekend than LSU, propelling them into the #2 spot. Florida State’s mostly idle weekend dropped them a few sports. Big Ten indoor champ Minnesota is starting to crank up the outdoor season, as is rival Wisconsin.

Major scored-meet action included Oregon and UCLA in a tie, Stanford beating Cal, Indiana winning a quad meet, and Ohio State beating Michigan in some truly horrid weather. (How bad? It was 40 minutes away and I didn’t go.)

Major scored-meet action this coming week includes the ACC Championships and Missouri at Georgia.

College Power Rankings

The college power rankings return for an early outdoor edition.

I'm not one of those people who believes indoor and outdoor track should be considered separate sports.  How many colleges have separate webpages for their indoor and outdoor teams?  Does anyone ever get a scholarship for indoor track only?  Do coaches get separate contracts for indoor and outdoor track?  Of course not.  My rankings are for a combined indoor/outdoor season, as everyone knows track and field is.

It being very early, the more active teams are rated higher than they might otherwise be.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for March 30, 2011
this week's scored competition, if any, listed in italics
1. Texas A&M - at LSU Invitational
2. LSU - at LSU Invitational
3. Florida
4. Southern Cal - vs. BYU and Cal St. Northridge
5. BYU - at Southern Cal with Cal St. Northridge
6. Arkansas
7. Texas
8. Long Beach St.
9. Indiana
10. Minnesota - at Jim Click Shootout
11. Stanford
12. Florida State
13. UCLA - vs. Tennessee
14. Wisconsin
15. UC Irvine
16. Nebraska - at Wichita State with Northern Iowa
17. Oklahoma
18. Virginia Tech
19. Oregon
20. Princeton
21. Ohio State - at Jim Click Shootout
22. Arizona State
23. Houston
24. Arizona - at Jim Click Shooutout
25. Texas Tech

Texas beat UCLA and Arkansas in a tri-meet. Long Beach State and UC Irvine took the top two spots at the Cal-Nevada Championships.

The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for March 30, 2011

1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. LSU - at LSU Invitational
4. Arkansas
5. Texas A&M - at LSU Invitational
6. Nebraska - at Wichita State with Northern Iowa
7. Clemson
8. Arizona - at Jim Click Shooutout
9. BYU - at Southern Cal with Cal St. Northridge
10. Texas Tech
11. Southern Cal - vs. BYU and Cal St. Northridge
12. Florida State
13. Ohio State - at Jim Click Shooutout
14. Oklahoma
15. Tennessee - at UCLA
16. Arizona State
17. Stanford
18. South Carolina
19. Central Florida
20. Minnesota - at Jim Click Shooutout
21. Indiana
22. Baylor
23. Georgia
24. North Carolina - at Jim Click Shooutout
25. Auburn

Texas won the Victor Lopez Bayou Classic.

Superfan Daily: Men's College Power Rankings

Almost the only that happened last weekend in college track were "last chance" meets, where teams get a last-ditch effort to qualify athletes or relay teams to the NCAA Championships.  As such, it doesn't really affect the top 25 much.  As the season is over for the vast majority of teams, I'll do something different this week.

Broken down by conference, here are the top 50 and top 100 men's teams in NCAA Division I.

Atlantic Ten
Teams in the top 100: Charlotte, Rhode Island

ACC
Teams in the top 50: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Big Ten
Teams in the top 50: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin
Teams in the top 100: Purdue

Big 12
Teams in the top 50: Baylor, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Top 100: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma State

Big East
Teams in the top 50: UConn, Notre Dame
Teams in the top 100: Georgetown, Louisville, South Florida, Villanova

Big Sky
Teams in the top 100: Montana State, Northern Arizona , Sacramento State

Big South
Teams in the top 100: Liberty

Conference USA
Teams in the top 50: Houston
Teams in the top 100: Memphis, Tulsa

Heps
Teams in the top 50: Cornell, Princeton
Teams in the top 100: Dartmouth

Mid-American Conference
Teams in the top 50: Akron, Kent State
Teams in the top 100: Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan

MEAC
Teams in the top 100: Hampton, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Norfolk State

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation
Teams in the top 50: Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Washington State

Missouri Valley
Teams in the top 50: Indiana State
Teams in the top 100: Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Wichita State

Mountain West
Teams in the top 50: Air Force, BYU, New Mexico
Teams in the top 100: Colorado State, TCU, Wyoming

Ohio Valley Conference
Teams in the top 100: Eastern Illinois

Patriot League
Teams in the top 100: Army, Navy

Sun Belt Conference
Teams in the top 100: Middle Tennessee State, Western Kentucky

SEC
Teams in the top 50: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee
Teams in the top 100: Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Carolina

Southland
Teams in the top 100: Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas-Arlington, UTSA

Southern Conference
Teams in the top 100: Appalachian State

Summit League
Teams in the top 100: North Dakota State, Oral Roberts, South Dakota State

WAC
Teams in the top 100: Boise State, Utah State

Look for a similar women's analysis later this week.

First Superfan World Rankings Update

Over the last few years, last year especially, I experimented with a points-based merit rankings system and posted the leading scorers.  This blog will be undergoing a major overhaul in the coming month, and I'm planning to have those merit rankings on their own page within the site.

For right now, though, any updates to those rankings are still going to be posted here in the blog.  My system allows for rankings within events and also an overall ranking.  With the indoor season all but finished*, here are the current overall leaders.

MEN
1. Ashton Eaton USA / multis
2. David Oliver USA / high hurdles
2. Teddy Tamgho FRA / triple jump
4. David Lekuta Rudisha KEN / 800m
5. Ivan Ukhov RUS / high jump
6. Yenew Alamirew ETH / long distance
6. Renaud Lavillenie FRA / pole vault
8. Augustine Choge KEN / long distance
9. Phillips Idowu GBR / triple jump
10. Eliud Kipchoge KEN / long distance

WOMEN
1. Mary Keitany KEN / road racing
2. Yevgeniya Zinurova RUS / 800m
3. Valerie Vili NZL / shot put
4. Darya Klishina RUS / long jump
5. Yelena Isinbayeva RUS / pole vault
6. Yargeris Savigne CUB / triple jump
7. Sentayehu Ejigu ETH / long distance
8. Anna Rogowska POL / pole vault
9. Svetlana Feofanova RUS / pole vault
10. Kim Smith NZL / road racing
...
14. Jen Suhr USA / pole vault

*The NCAA championships are this week, but the only collegian making an impact in my rankings is Kirani James, the outstanding 400 runner from Alabama.

Note that Track and Field News' male and female athletes of the month for February are my male and female leaders.

Superfan Daily: College Power Rankings

The top-ranked teams stay the same, but those behind them shuffled quite a bit.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for March 1, 2011
(last week's ranking in parenthesis)
1. Florida (1)
2. Arkansas (5)
3. LSU (2)
4. Texas A&M (3)
5. BYU (6)
6. Minnesota (7)
7. Indiana (4)
8. Wisconsin (9)
9. Nebraska (12)
10. Stanford (13)
11. Oklahoma (10)
12. Virginia Tech (17)
13. Iowa (18)
14. Arizona (23)
15. Ohio State (8)
16. Texas (19)
17. Princeton (21)
18. Oregon (11)
19. Florida State (20)
20. Penn State (14)
21. Houston (HM)
22. Alabama (16)
23. UCLA (NR)
24. Georgia (22)
25. Illinois (15)
Close but not quite: Akron, Arizona State, Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Kent State, Michigan State, New Mexico, North Carolina St., Texas Tech

Arkansas gave Florida all they could handle at the SEC Championships, and moves into the second position.  Poor showings by Ohio State and Oregon at their conference meets led each to tumble down the rankings.

The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for March 1, 2011
(last week's ranking in parenthesis)
1. Oregon (1)
2. LSU (2)
3. Nebraska (5)
4. Texas A&M (4)
5. Arkansas (7)
6. Texas (3)
7. Clemson (11)
8. Ohio State (12)
9. BYU (6)
10. Oklahoma (9)
11. Florida State (8)
12. Texas Tech (10)
13. Tennessee (23)
14. Arizona (15)
15. Stanford (13)
16. Penn State (16)
17. Minnesota (HM)
18. Indiana (14)
19. Arizona State (21)
20. North Carolina (19)
21. Michigan (17)
22. Florida (18)
23. Michigan State (HM)
24. Auburn (HM)
25. Wichita State (22)
Close but not quite: Central Florida, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Miami (FL), South Carolina, Southern Illinois, Virginia Tech

Big conference meet wins by Nebraska, Clemson and Ohio State moved each up a few notches.

Track on TV
Bud Greenspan Remembers: The 1984 L.A. Olympics, 8:00 AM tomorrow on Showtime Family Zone

News Links
Runner's World's Racing News has all the headlines, including a leaked report that Galen Rupp is entering the NYC Half Marathon.

The USTFCCCA's weekend roundup, and Ken Goe's daily Oregon track news.

Athletics Kenya has cut road world record holder Leonard Komon from its World Cross Country team for defying a no-racing order.  Ruling with an iron fist is a lot easier when you can still win the gold without all of your best runners.

The IOC has rejected Iran's nutball complaints about the London 2012 logo.  Last night Rachel Maddow suggested the tin-hat rantings were a ploy to divert attention from crackdowns on political opponents.

A lengthy profile of Shalane Flanagan from Runner's World.

Famous waffle iron: found!

Brianna Glenn blogs about fouling.

Paul Merca on Washington's proposed new track facility.

Martin Bingisser blogs about starting throwers young.

KIMbia's "Dispatches From Down Under" with Matt Tegenkamp.

Lauren Fleshman blogs about injuries.

College Power Rankings

There are very few changes to the rankings, as last weekend was a quiet one before the conference championship weekend.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for February 22, 2011
1. Florida
2. LSU
3. Texas A&M
4. Indiana
5. Arkansas
6. BYU
7. Minnesota
8. Ohio State
9. Wisconsin
10. Oklahoma
11. Oregon
12. Nebraska
13. Stanford
14. Penn State
15. Illinois
16. Alabama
17. Virginia Tech
18. Iowa
19. Texas
20. Florida State
21. Princeton
22. Georgia
23. Arizona
24. Clemson
25. Michigan State
Close, but not quite: Akron, Arizona State, Connecticut, Duke, Houston, Kent State, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Washington

Florida and LSU at the top two spots set up a showdown at the SEC Championships. Possibly the tightest of the conference championships could be the Big Ten, as eight of the conference members are in the top 25 and four (Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin) are in the top ten.

The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for February 22, 2011
1. Oregon
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Texas A&M
5. Nebraska
6. BYU
7. Arkansas
8. Florida State
9. Oklahoma
10. Texas Tech
11. Clemson
12. Ohio State
13. Stanford
14. Indiana
15. Arizona
16. Penn State
17. Michigan
18. Florida
19. North Carolina
20. Central Florida
21. Arizona State
22. Wichita State
23. Tennessee
24. Mississippi
25. Iowa State
Close, but not quite: Auburn, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisville, Miami (FL), Michigan State, Minnesota, South Carolina, Southern Illinois

The toughest conference meet on the women's side of things looks to be the Big XII, as it holds five of the top ten ranking positions.

College Power Rankings

The women’s leader stays the same, but there’s a new #1 team in the men’s rankings.

The Superfan’s Men’s Power Rankings for February 15, 2011
1. Florida (3rd last week)
2. LSU (2)
3. Indiana (1)
4. Texas A&M (4)
5. Arkansas (6)
6. Wisconsin (16)
7. Ohio State (8)
8. Oklahoma (11)
9. Minnesota (13)
10. Oregon (10)
11. BYU (7)
12. Texas (19)
13. Stanford (15)
14. Penn State (9)
15. Nebraska (14)
16. Alabama (17)
17. Iowa (18)
18. Illinois (24)
19. Florida State (22)
20. Georgia (NR)
21. Princeton (NR)
22. Clemson (23)
23. Arizona (21)
24. Washington (20)
25. Houston (NR)

Florida, a heavy favorite for the NCAA Championship, finally made it to #1. Indiana was strong early but the field has come back to the Hoosiers. Wisconsin has come on strong.  Duke drops out of the rankings after it became obvious that last week's 3rd place at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational was a fluke.

The Superfan’s Women’s Power Rankings for February 15, 2011
1. Oregon (1)
2. LSU (3)
3. Texas A&M (4)
4. Texas (5)
5. Nebraska (6)
6. Arkansas (7)
7. BYU (2)
8. Florida State (14)
9. Oklahoma (12)
10. Clemson (8)
11. Texas Tech (19)
12. Ohio State (10)
13. Tennessee (23)
14. Michigan (15)
15. Stanford (16)
16. Indiana (9)
17. Penn State (18)
18. Arizona (11)
19. Florida (NR)
20. North Carolina (24)
21. Central Florida (17)
22. Wichita State (NR)
23. Mississippi (NR)
24. Illinois (25)
25. Michigan State (NR)

Oregon has solidified its place at the top. Wichita State enters the rankings for the first time at #22, and Ole Miss does so at #23.

For comparison's sake, here are the USTFCCCA rankings.

Superfan Daily: College Power Rankings

The leaders stay the same, but the followers changed considerably.

The major competition of the week was the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, which had a team scoring element.  There were some upsets in the competition which are reflected in the rankings below.  But the team scores also made ranking difficult for a few teams.

A few teams, most notably Oklahoma and the women's team from Ohio State, split their squads between the NBCI and another meet.  Had they brought their whole squad they probably would have scored more points than they did.  In these cases I've decided to ignore their place in the meet in terms of rankings.

The Superfan's Men's Power Rankings for February 8
Last week's ranking in parenthesis, this week's result in italics

Superfan Daily: College Power Rankings

Both men's and women's rankings have new leaders this week.  One might surprise you. 

As discussed last week, these rankings combine several things: results of scored meets plus projected competitiveness at national and conference meets.

Superfan Men's Power Rankings for February 1
Team (last week's rank)
1. Indiana (3)

Superfan Power Rankings: College Women

Promised tomorrow, delivered ahead of schedule.

Remember, this is A way to rank teams, not the only way.  It is very much like the USTFCCCA regional rankings, but blends all the regions into one group. At the top, though, it is more reflective of national rankings.

1. Texas A&M 1) v LSU
2. Tennessee
3. Arkansas
4. LSU 2) v TAMU
5. Clemson
6. Indiana 1) v Purdue
7. Oklahoma
8. Central Florida
9. Texas Tech
10. Ohio State 1) v Michigan
11. Nebraska 1) adidas Classic
12. Southern Illinois
13. Stanford
14. Minnesota 1) Jack Johnson Classic
15. Michigan 2) v Ohio State
16. Mississippi
17. Penn State
18. Illinois 1) Illini Classic
19. Louisville
20. Texas 1) Hilton Memorial
21. Connecticut 1) NYRR Armory
22. TCU
23. Michigan State
24. North Dakota State
25. Iowa State

Most west coast teams, most notably Oregon, and some sun belt teams are absent due to a later start to their seasons.  They'll be in here soon.

Central Florida is an up-and-coming program, as noted by their #8 ranking here.

It's very early, and things can and will change, but Ohio State is the top-ranked team in the Big Ten.  The Buckeyes have never won a (women's) Big Ten team championship, indoors or out, and only have two runner-up finishes.

Early numbers suggest the SEC Championship could be a tight three-way race.

Superfan Daily: Men's College Power Rankings

Yesterday I wrote about the shortcomings of the USTFCCCA computer rankings for college teams, and promised a new system of ranking teams.  I've gotten some feedback about what people think is important and what they don't.
I think the best way to explain why I'm coming up with a system is to just let Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry say it.  From the January 2011 issue of Track and Field News, speaking about the increasing irrelevance of college track:

The...aspect that we've lost is that it's about Red beating Blue. Every other sport, including golf now, involves a team. We have to start being team-oriented, team against team. We've got to come away with winners and we've also got to come away with losers.


I think that's important to the development of the individual, not just for our sport. I think it's great for our individuals to be involved in something greater than self also and be a winner or a loser. I think that's part of the education process.


But I think our sport has to come back to this school trying to beat that school.


...what we should be doing in my opinion: having a great track meet where we really care about whether there's people sitting in the stands or not.


We've got to create an environment that is fan friendly...and they see this team has beaten that team...

So my Superfan Power Rankings are created with that attitude in mind, that the results of all scored meets have some meaning, not just the NCAA Championships. Obviously not equal meaning, but when you see this team beat that team it is then reflected in the rankings until either a) the teams meet again with a different outcome or b) it has become obvious that the head-to-head outcome was a fluke.

Let's also be honest about something: rankings and ratings ultimately don't matter. This is true in any college sport (besides football), but especially so here.  No team's ranking will put it at a disadvantage for winning the championship of the NCAA or its conference. As my high school coach used to say, if we know ahead of time who is going to win the trophies then we won't bother to have the meet.

Where rankings DO matter is in sports media. And I think we risk making ourselves look ridiculous by having a team win a meet and then fall behind the team they beat.  I also think it's important to be able to look at the rankings and have some indication of which team will win an upcoming meet, be it an invitational, dual, or conference championship, and the USTFCCCA computer ratings aren't terribly good at that.

The rankings are based only on this year, from both team results and a compilation of individual results. They combine the ability to compete at both an NCAA Championship-type meet and a conference-type meet. Teams are ranked only on what they have already done, thus very good squads with little to no competition so far this year (such as Florida and Oregon) are far below where they'll probably end up.

Rankings after the jump...

A New College Track Team Rankings System

Yesterday the latest USTFCCCA computer ratings came out. On the men’s side, LSU moved from #3 in the rankings up to #1. But wait, you say, didn’t Texas A&M beat LSU over the weekend? Yet the Aggies fell a spot from #2 to #3? WTF?

Now you see the ridiculousness inherent in the system. The USTFCCCA computer ratings are merely a numerically-based projection of the final scores at the NCAA Championships. And those are based entirely on times, heights and distances, not on any who-beat-who results of real competition.

Even the BCS system, for all its strangeness, would never drop at team below its recently vanquished opponent. I fear that the USTFCCCA ratings, the only real ratings we have in college track, would make us a laughingstock...if anyone were paying attention. It needs to be done better, but in a way that holds meaning.

More after the jump...

Continental Cup Preview

The first-ever Continental Cup takes place this weekend.  Well, not really the first ever; it used to be the World Cup.  But back then it was at least partially a national-team competition, with three nations and five continents represented.  Now it's teams from four continents and the team-scoring portion of the meet seems basically pointless.  Some of the events have very weak fields, most notably the sprints, but some are surprisingly good.

Meet website
Schedule - start lists - results
Scoring and prize money format

Your viewing options are many. 
Live webcasts: at UniversalSports.com beginning at 11 AM on both days
TV coverage: same-day tape at 6 PM on Saturday and 7 PM on Sunday on  Universal Sports TV
IAAF Radio broadcasts: running from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM on both days (link)
Note: IAAF Radio is really good, especially if you don't want to sit in front of a screen for four to five hours

I've got limited time this weekend, and I probably will have to choose which day to follow.  In that case I'll go with Sunday, as it has four different #1 vs #2 matchups, highlighted by what I think will be a very interesting women's 5k with Vivian Cheruyiot against Tirunesh Dibaba.

There are a lot of previews out there.  But what I really think I'd want would be a viewing guide that helped me know what events are going on, as there are often several at once.  I'd also want to know who was in each event and who were considered the favorites.

No such thing exists.  So I made one.  It's right here.  Use the arrow button on the top left to go full-screen or download the spreadsheet.

Van Damme

Tomorrow’s Van Damme Memorial meet in Brussels will crown the remaining half of the inaugural Diamond League champions. Many of the titles are already clinched, but some others are still in play.

I’m trying out a new rankings system this year, known as the Superfan Rankings. The criteria for ranking high is similar to that of Track and Field News’ world rankings, but with one difference: avoiding tough competition in order to avoid losing is penalized.

While the Brussels meet is not the last one, it’s the last really big one. In order of the meet schedule, here’s how the rankings in each event being run tomorrow could play out.

Women’s discus: Yarelis Barrios leads and cannot be caught.

Men’s shot put: Christian Cantwell leads and cannot be caught. A big throw, something over 22 meters, would help him fend off Tyson Gay and Bershawn Jackson in all-event Athlete of the Year rankings (in which he is currently third).

Women’s triple jump: Right now, Yargeris Sevigne leads over Olga Rypakova. That will reverse if Rypakova wins by anything more than about 6 or 7 centimeters.

Men’s steeplechase: The Diamond League final was last week, and Paul Koech won the title. There’s a steeplechase tomorrow, though. Koech is ranked #2 behind Ezekiel Kemboi, and could go to #1 if he wins with a sub-8:00 clocking.

Men’s 400m hurdles: Bershawn Jackson leads and cannot be caught. If he wins with a 47.40 or better, he would pass Christian Cantwell in the overall rankings.

Women’s 200 meters: Allyson Felix leads and cannot be caught. If she runs a world leader, she’ll pass Jessica Ennis for #2 in the overall rankings.

Men’s pole vault: Renaud Lavillenie leads and cannot be caught.

Women’s high jump: Blanka Vlasic leads and cannot be caught. If she wins, she’ll pass Betty Heidler (currently third) in the all-event Athlete of the Year rankings.

Women’s 800 meters: Mariya Savinova leads and cannot be caught.

Men’s 100 meters: Tyson Gay will pass Asafa Powell for the #1 ranking, unless he false-starts or injures himself. If he runs under 9.75 or so, he would pass Christian Cantwell for third in the all-event Athlete of the Year rankings.

Women’s steeplechase: The #1 ranking is on the line here. Whoever wins between Milcah Chemos and Yuliya Zarudneva will take the top spot.

Men’s 1500 meters: Augustine Choge has this all but sewn up. If he totally bombs, Amine Laalou could take the top spot with a win. Asbel Kiprop also has an outside chance at the top ranking.

Women’s 100m hurdles: Priscilla Lopes-Schliep just about has the #1 ranking sewn up, barring disaster.

Men’s triple jump: Teddy Tamgho leads and cannot be caught.

Men’s javelin: Andreas Thorkildsen leads and cannot be caught.

Men’s 800 meters: David Rudisha has clinched the #1 ranking, and just about clinched #1 in the all-event Athlete of the Year rankings.

Women’s 5000 meters: Vivian Cheruyiot would have to run poorly to lose her #1 ranking, in which case it would go to Sentayehu Ejigu.

Track on TV
Beijing 2008 – America’s Olympic Glory, 7:45 AM on Showtime Family Channel
Diamond League London rerun, 11:30 AM on Universal Sports

Around the Web
Runner's World Racing News has all the headlines: Mary Keitany will run her debut marathon in New York, and weekend previews

Britain's Athletics Weekly says the upcoming Commonwealth Games will be a delight, not a disaster.

SPIKES Magazine interviews Tyson Gay and David Rudisha

An interview with Mo Farah

Doha, Istanbul and Rome have bid for the 2017 IAAF World Championships.  Should the Turkish city win, I have the perfect theme song.

RunnerSpace has video highlights of the recent Leadville Trail 100 and a 10-minute interview with Alan Webb.

Rome 1960: when the Olympics went modern.

Flotrack interviews Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

Hometown newspaper features on Morgan Uceny and Christian Cantwell.

Superfan Rankings Update: Women's Overall Leaders

Who's leading the chase for the Athlete of the Year honors?

1. Nadzeya Ostapchuk (BLR/SP) 381
2. Jessica Ennis (GBR/Hep) 345
3. Milcah Chemos (KEN/Stpl) 321
4. Blanka Vlašic (CRO/HJ) 316
5. Betty Heidler (GER/HT) 314
6. Anita Wlodarczyk (POL/HT) 309
7. Fabiana Murer (BRA/PV) 302
8. Valerie Vili (NZL/SP) 291
9. Tatyana Lysenko (RUS/HT) 274
10. Barbora Špotáková (CZE/JT) 272

This is a very field-event heavy bunch, with only one purely running-event athlete and six throwers.

Ostapchuk is undefeated, has thrown very far, and has repeatedly faced up against Vili. The Kiwi is undefeated against all others and also throwing very far.

Ennis has won all three of her multis this year, all against top competition, and with good marks each time. It would require breaking Jackie Joyner-Kersee's world record for the Brit to overtake Ostapchuk, though.

Steepler Chemos lost only her opening race and has faced stiff competition in all of her races.

Vlasic has lost a few times, which will happen when you compete as much as high jumpers do, but she hasn't failed in any of the biggest meets. You can pretty much say the same about Murer.

There are three hammer-throwers in here, which tells you a lot about the level of competition this year. Euro champ Heidler is barely ahead of Wlodarczyk, who broke the World Record earlier this year.

Špotáková has gone through a rough patch lately, taking only bronze at the European Championships, but built up enough in the early-going that she still rates in the top ten. She'll be overtaken quickly if she doesn't get it turned around.

What's on today
The BIGBANK Estonian GP Final, an EAA Area Permit meet, takes place in Rakvere.  This is the return to racing for Justin Gatlin.  You can read stories about the whole situation from Sports Illustrated, Britain's Telegraph, and Reuters.

The Malmö GP, another EAA Area Permit meet, takes place in the Swedish city of the same name.
Meet website

Track on TV
Diamond League Gateshead rerun, 3 PM on Universal Sports


Other reading
Runner's World's Racing News rounds up the weekend action
UK Athletics head Niels De Vos says athletics is blossoming in Britain
Spikes Mag runs down the winners and losers from the Euros
Two articles looking back to 50 years ago: the LA Times on Ralph Boston breaking Jesse Owen's record, and SI's Joe Posnanski with very long and very good look at Rafer Johnson
The Bay Area Track Club's Peter Gilmore looks at the growth of track and field
Blog posts from David Oliver on making the cover of TFN, and from Brianna Glenn on being the laughingstock of Germans.

Superfan Rankings Update: Men's Overall Leaders

After Championship Week, how do the points stack up?


1. David Lekuta Rudisha (KEN/800m) 362
2. David Oliver (USA/110H) 346
3. Christian Cantwell (USA/SP) 341
4. Ivan Ukhov (RUS/HJ) 315
5. Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR/JT) 312
6. Asafa Powell (JAM/sprints) 303
7. Bershawn Jackson (USA/400H) 287
8. Renaud Lavillenie (FRA/PV) 282
9. Usain Bolt (JAM/sprints) 280
10. Dwight Phillips (USA/LJ) 273

Rudisha's stunning 1:42.84 at the African Championships gives him the inside track to the Athlete of the Year. How much altitude hinders the 800, if at all, is hard to quantify, but running that fast without a pacemaker has rarely if ever been done.

Ukhov's silver medal was a missed opportunity for him. Thorkildsen can pass him only with a mark in excess of 90 meters, or with continued Ukhov shortcomings.

Lavillenie enters the top ten with a Euro gold medal and a big mark. Bolt will move up the rankings soon, and in a big way. But he'll need some really fast times to bust into the top three.

Superfan Rankings Update: Men's Long Distance

Going over to the long races, let's see who's on top...

Steeplechase
Rank Athlete NAT Pts
1 Brimin Kiprop Kipruto KEN 251
2 Paul Kipsiele Koech KEN 232
3 Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong KEN 209
4 Ezekiel Kemboi KEN 200
5 Benjamin Kiplagat UGA 188
6 Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad FRA 146
7 Patrick Langat KEN 127
8 Bob Tahri FRA 120
9 Roba Gary ETH 116
10 Elijah Chelimo Kipterege KEN 95
11 Brahim Taleb MAR 70
12 Jonathan Ndiku KEN 58
13 Daniel Huling USA 45
14 Abraham Cherono KEN 42
15 Silas Kosgei Kiptum KEN 40
15 Abdelatif Chemlal MAR 40
17 Bernard Mbugua KEN 38
18 Ruben Ramolefi RSA 30
18 Abraham Chirchir KEN 30
20 Hilary Yego KEN 28
Twelve Kenyans in the top 20.


3000 / 5000 meters