By Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA                                                                               May 16, 2016

NEW ORLEANS – The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field regular season has officially come to an end, but the race for the men’s national team title is far, far from over.

NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS TOP 5 – MEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Texas A&M LSU Florida Oregon Arkansas 356.62 pts 245.09 pts 237.16 pts 222.13 pts 217.54 pts View Complete Men’s National Team Computer Rankings

You’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise after just a cursory glance at the latest National Team Rankings announced Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Texas A&M not only remained atop the top-25 but managed to widen the gap between itself and new No. 2 LSU. The Aggies checked in with 356.62 points in the rankings – up more than 25 points from last time behind the incredible performance of decathlete Lindon Victor – while the Bayou Bengals came in more than 110 points back at 245.09.

That’s by far the widest chasm between No. 1 and No. 2 in the rankings at this point in the season (week seven) since they began in 2008, surpassing the nearly 82-point advantage held by Florida over the Aggies in 2014.

With a nation-best 12 athletes ranked top-10 in the 10 different events – including a nation-best eight marks ranked top-three nationally in the sprints, hurdles, relays, jumps, throws and combined events – the Aggies haven proven themselves the best-balanced and deepest team from a national championships perspective to this point in the season.

LSU registered just ahead of No. 3 Florida (237.16), Pac-12 champion No. 4 Oregon (237.16) and SEC champion No. 5Arkansas (217.54). The SEC took the next two spots with No. 6Georgia (166.43) and No. 7 Alabama (150.53), while the Lone Star State accounted for the remaining balance of the top 10 with Big 12 champ No. 8 Texas (142.86), American Athletic Conference winner No. 9 Houston (128.56) and No. 10 Texas Tech (126.96).

Florida fell one position from a week ago, while Oregon jumped up three thanks to Edward Cheserek beginning his return to form. The biggest top-10 addition was Houston, which improved 10 spots from a week ago with a pair of top-10 short-sprint efforts from Leshon Collins. Last week’s rank for the Cougars was their first top-20 rank in program history; this week it’s their first top-10 appearance.

A couple reminders: the team rankings points don’t equate to NCAA Championships points (but can be used to show relative strength between teams) and the rankings are not meant to predict Conference Championship finishes but rather how teams might fare at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 8-11.

With all that said, let’s return to the lede of the story: this race is far from over.

Among the Aggies’ greatest strengths this season are the sprints and hurdles, the 800, the pole vault and the javelin.

Almost exactly as they did at the SEC Championships this past weekend, Texas A&M will be battling tooth and nail at NCAAs for sprints and hurdles points with rival top-10 contenders LSU, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas and Houston. Take a look at the USTFCCCA Event Squad Rankings to see how intense the battles for those points will be in Eugene this summer.

The Aggies may have an opportunity to separate themselves from the sprints pack at 800 meters, where they have the top-ranked quartet in the nation (per the Event Squad Rankings) and the nearest top-10 team race opponent in Arkansas all the way down at sixth.

Texas A&M also has the top-ranked groups in the Event Squad Rankings in the pole vault and the javelin, but with title contenders close behind in both events. In-state rival No. 8 Texas is rated fourth in the pole vault – a notoriously unpredictable event to begin with – while No. 4 Oregon is rated just behind the Aggies in second when it comes to the javelin.

And remember that significant advantage Florida held over Texas A&M at this time in 2014? It would come to pass that neither squad would ultimately take the national title: that honor went to third-ranked Oregon.

With the NCAA East and West Prelims approaching in two weekends’ time, the race for the title is sure to shift at least once more.

Additional Notes

• Big Ten Champion Nebraska made the biggest jump of any top-25 team this weekend, moving up 25 spots to No. 20.
• Not far behind the Cornhuskers in terms of upward movement were No. 12 Tennessee and No. 17Washington, which improved 21 spots and 19 spots, respectively.
• Nine teams from the SEC checked in as top-25 programs this week

The National Team Computer Rankings are complied by a mathematical formula based on national descending order lists. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race.

Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points.

A full description of the rankings can be found here.