Lumberjacks No. 33 in Latest Rankings
4/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 30, 2014
USTFCCCA Rankings Release
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - With the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships next week, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks are heading into the meet as one of the top teams in the nation. The latest rankings from the USTFCCCA were released Tuesday, and the Lumberjacks come in at No. 33.
This week's rankings are the first to include only marks from the current season with better marks from last season no longer counting toward the rankings formula, and the Lumberjacks climbed 11 spots from last week.
SFA has five marks that rank in the top 25 in the NCAA this season, including two in the top 10.
Senior pole vaulter Colton Ross moved up to No. 5 in the nation last weekend with his victory at the J. Fred Duckett Invitational. His clearance of 5.52 meters (18-1.25) was a new personal record and earned him his third win of the outdoor season in five meets.
SFA's other top 10 mark is in the long jump with Jamal Peden coming in at No. 7 on the list. Peden's leap of 7.81 meters (25-7.50) is No. 1 in the Southland Conference by nearly a foot.
The men's 4x400 relay team of Hampton Hawkins, Torin Crowder, Josh Taylor and Cass Brown-Stewart is ranked No. 18, setting a new school record with their time of 3:06.60. That time came at the prestigious Texas Relays and bested some of the traditional powers in the track and field world to get the win.
Two more top 20 rankings go to individuals on the men's team as Taylor is among the top athletes in the 400 meter hurdles, and Brown-Stewart is ranked in the 400 meters.
Taylor's time of 50.92 seconds in his event is the 14th fastest time in the nation this season. He is tops in the Southland by 1.2 seconds.
Brown-Stewart is No. 20 in the 400 meters with his time of 46.33 seconds. He is the top runner in the Southland Conference, holding a lead over the No. 2 time in the league by more than three-tenths of a second.
Both Brown-Stewart and Ross have either finished first or second in their respect events in every competition this season.
Two more Lumberjacks join Ross in the rankings in the pole vault. Cameron Meyer is ranked No. 29 with his clearance of 5.31 meters (17-5.00) along with freshman Daven Murphree at No. 41. Murphree has cleared 5.21 meters (17-1.00) and is the No. 4 freshman in the nation.
The USTFCCCA Rankings are based solely on performance taking every athletes' top mark into account in its scoring formula. With this formula the purpose of the rankings is to create an index listing the teams with the best potential of sending athletes to the NCAA Championship and competing for the national team title.
Last season, SFA's men sent Brown-Stewart, then-senior Jon Arthur and the 4x400 relay to the NCAA Championship after advancing through the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.
SFA's women also have some strong marks so far this season, led by thrower Madison Johnston in the javelin. Her school record throw of 50.06 meters (164-3) ranks 25th in the nation. The women's 4x400 relay team also comes in at No. 38.
The majority of the `Jacks are off this weekend as they are preparing for next week's Southland Conference Championships in Conway, Ark. SFA's pole vaulters will compete at the Longhorn Invitational.
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