Kats up to 17th in USTFCCCA rankings
2/12/2019 9:20:00 AM | Track & Field
HUNTSVILLE – The NCAA D-1 Men's Indoor Track & Field Rating Index released their weekly national ranking on Monday with the Sam Houston State men's track & field team ranked 17th in the country.
SHSU moved up 15 spots, a considerable leap from previous week's ranking of 32nd to position themselves firmly in the top 20. Sam Houston's best ranking was previously 26th, which was set earlier in the season. Since then the Bearkats have held steady before making the jump to 17. The program is also ranked sixth in the South Central Region and are ranked first amongst all Southland Conference schools.
The team was ranked 83rd in the preseason rankings after coming off a season in which the team finished ranked 36th.
Sophomore Clayton Fritsch was key to the Bearkats ascension in the standings with his own record-breaking performance during the Howie Ryan Invitational. Fritsch was SHSU's only representative that registered an NCAA top 20 mark. He broke the indoor school record in the pole vault with a jump of 18' 2” and he is currently ranked 11th in the country.
The previous expectations have been shattered by the team thanks to performances from athletes such as Chris Jefferson, who along with Jo'Vaughn Martin and Fabian McCall have set school records this season.
Jefferson set new school records in the 60 and 200-meter dash and his time of 20.74 in the 200-meter race has him at the No. 10 spot on the national rankings.
Martin has had his share of noteworthy performances in his inaugural campaign. The freshman moved into the top of the program's history in the 60 and 200-meter races being bested by only his teammate, Jefferson in both categories. Martin currently ranks just inside the top 20 in the 200-meter dash at 19th.
McCall got his season off to a great start, the junior competed in the 60-meter hurdle at the Ted Nelson Invitational Friday and broke a school record with a time of 7.74. That performance qualified him for nationals, and with two more competitions left before the NCAA Indoor Championships he is ranked 12th on the national level.
This week's rankings are the first time this season that only marks from this season were utilized in the rankings system. Marks form the previous season were used for the previous three rankings.
The Sam Houston State track and field team will travel to College Station this weekend to compete in the Texas A&M Twilite. The meet will be on Saturday and will be a one-day competition.
