West Texas A&M jumped three spots to No. 2 after capturing the program’s first Lone Star Conference title and picked up seven top-5 nationally ranked efforts.
Benjamin Azamati led the way with his two golds in the 100 and 200, along with a new NCAA DII record in the 200 (20.13). He also ran the second leg of the second-fastest 4×100 of the season (40.04c/39.92A). Other Buffs with nationally prominent performances are
Tyrin Lewis in the 110H (No. 2, 13.62cw/13.58A),
Guillaume Devries in the high jump (No. 2, 2.17m/7-1½),
Dhanushka Sandaruwan in the long jump (No. 2, 7.84mw/25-8¾),
Loic Rodrigues in the decathlon (No. 3, 7483) and
BYU and No. 10
Florida round out the rest of the top-10 in Week 7. The Red Raiders had an improved season effort from
Seasons Usual, as she moved to third in the discus with her heave of 59.85m (196-4).
The biggest in Week 7 is No. 20
North Carolina A&T with a 14 spot improvement from No. 34. The Aggies claimed their third MEAC championship in the last four years.
Cambrea Sturgis shined for the Aggies with titles in the 100, 200 and 4×100. Her winning time in the 100 of 11.03w (2.0) moves her up to No. 3 on the Descending Order List in the 100. Sturgis also led off the 4×100 that clocked 43.75 for the tenth-best time of the season.
Iowa State and eighth-ranked
Florida sit a little bit off-pace from those previous six teams.
The Cougars actually closed the gap on the Tigers this past weekend by adding two national top-10 marks at the Oregon Twilight – both in the steeplechase.
Garrett Marsing went 8:34.40 for the third-best mark this season, while
Clayson Shumway finished in 8:40.11 for the seventh.
North Carolina A&T improved its ranking two spots since Week 6. The now ninth-ranked Aggies rolled to the team title at the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Randolph Ross won the 400 in 44.60 to move up to No. 4 on the Descending Order List and make North Carolina A&T the only program with two sub-45 second athletes (Trevor Stewart sits No. 2 at 44.52 from the North Florida Invitational).
Rochester, N.Y.
Also Receiving Votes: Matthew Boling, Georgia; Devin Dixon, Texas A&M; Gleb Dudarev, Kansas; Emmanuel Ihemeje, Oregon; Eliud Kipsang, Alabama; Thomas Mardal, Florida; Jo’Vaughn Martin, Florida State; Micah Williams, Oregon
NEXT: May 20
Cunningham, who hails from Winfield, Alabama, is back on the Watch List for the first time since March 24. He is currently ranked in a tie for second among collegians in the 110H at 13.28, a mark that he turned in at the UF Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in mid-April.
Harrison, who hails from Huntsville, Alabama, has competed twice since the last Watch List and left his mark each time. Just a few weeks ago at the LSU Alumni Gold, Harrison soared a wind-legal 8.44m (27-8¼) in the long jump to become the sixth-best performer in collegiate history and take over the national lead in that event. Then on May 1, Harrison cleared 2.30m (7-6½) in the high jump at the LSU Invitational and topped the national leaderboard in that event, to