2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII National Championship Rankings - Indoor Track & Field (preseason)

San Francisco, CA -- Heading into their second meet of the year this weekend, the Academy of Art University women's track team got a huge boost from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, nailing down the #5 national indoor ranking in their first time eligible. The Urban Knights, who made waves last year but were not NCAA postseason eligible until this past summer, burst onto the scene in the first meet of the year and were rewarded with 113.79 points in the poll.

Grand Valley State defends their title, holding the top ranking for the 17th straight poll, and are followed by Lincoln (MO) and Adams State. The Knights find themselves one spot behind Grand Canyon, who is in the PacWest at the moment but will jump to Division I next year in the WAC. Ashland, Augustana (SD), University of Mary, Saint Augustine's, and Central Missouri round out the top ten in the poll.

The ART U women's sprinters jumped out of the blocks in multiple events at the Jackson's Open in Boise, but most notably the 60m hurdles, as the senior duo of Vashti Thomas and Briana Stewart finished in a dead heat with a time (8.24) that was more than a whole tenth of a second below the automatic qualifying time for NCAA Division II (8.36). Joined by another senior, Julian Purvis, who finished with an 8.42 to take third place in that race, the Urban Knights swept the event at the Jackson's Open and Multi's.

Thomas also currently holds the second-fastest Division II time in the 60m dash (7.49), with Stewart holding down the sixth-fastest at 7.67 seconds. The 4x400 relay team of Stewart, Keanna Moody, Thomas, and Jasmine Joseph still holds the second-fastest time in the country as well (3:46.61), and with one meet this weekend and another at the end of the month, the Urban Knights have plenty of opportunity to show that their top five ranking is well-deserved.