KEVIN JENISON

GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Indiana State women's track & field team is ranked seventh nationally according to the Track and Field News magazine's women's indoor collegiate dual-meet preseason rankings.

“Dual meets have long been the backbone of collegiate track and field and we have always tried to keep that in mind when we schedule meets,” Angie Martin, Indiana State women's track and field head coach, said. “It is great for our sport that dual meets are making a comeback. Dual meets are very intense with a lot of pride on the line which makes for some great competition. I am excited for our team that we are recognized by such a prestigious magazine that covers our sport.”

The last time the Indiana State women were ranked was in the 1994 season when the Sycamores finished the indoor/outdoor season ranked 15th.

Three SEC teams dominate the top end of the rankings but the Big Ten claims the largest share with four of the top 10 teams. The other three rankings come from the Big 12, Missouri Valley, and Heptagonal conferences.

Louisiana State holds the top spot followed by Texas A&M, Kansas, Nebraska, and Arkansas in the top five. Michigan State leads the second five followed by Indiana State, Michigan, Indiana, and Princeton.

Indiana State will host Illinois State in a dual meet on Saturday, January 12 in a battle for the Coughlan-Malloy Cup which will be held at Rose-Hulman. The Sycamores will then travel to Purdue for their second dual meet of the indoor season on Saturday, January 19, in a battle for the Gene Edmonds Cup.

To be considered for the indoor rankings, a team must compete in at least one dual meet during the indoor season, using Track and Field News' definition of a “dual meet” as a scored meet between four or fewer teams. During the outdoor season, rankings will be kept for a combined indoor/outdoor season.

Men's preseason indoor rankings will be released on Wednesday, January 8. The next women's rankings will be released on Wednesday, January 15, and will recognize the top 20 teams.

TFN's dual meet rankings, compiled by Jesse Squire (www.tracksuperfan.com) , are a revival of annual rankings complied from 1970 to 1995. Dual meets were once the backbone of the collegiate track and field season, nearly disappeared in the 1990s and 2000s but have made a return, and with them have come the rankings. Last year's women's champions for the combined indoor/outdoor season were the Oregon Ducks.

A full compilation of past collegiate dual meet rankings can be found at tracksuperfan.com.