Time NCAA Collegiate Rankings 1982 - 2019 Women’S Distance
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All Time NCAA Collegiate Rankings 1982 - 2019 Women’s Distance Indoor: 800, 1 Mile, 3000, 5000, Distance Medley Relay Outdoor: 800, 1500, 3000 Steeplechase, 5000, 10,000 Compiled & Edited by Richard J. Ceronie, Ph.D. University of New Mexico Track & Field Updated December 4, 2019 To be included the thresholds used for these rankings were: Indoor 800: 2:05.00 Indoor 1 Mile: 4:38.00 Indoor 3000: 9:10.00 Indoor 5000: 16:00.00 Indoor Distance Medley Relay: 11:02.00 Outdoor 800: 2:03.00 Outdoor 1500: 4:15.00 Outdoor 3000 Steeplechase: 10:00.00 Outdoor 5000: 16:00.00 Outdoor 10,000: 33:10.00 Why the Rankings? In early December, 2018 several members of the University of New Mexico women’s distance squad traveled to Boston University for a 5000 meter race. The group ran pretty well going 15:14.78, 15:15.24, 15:26.01, and 15:42.85. When our group returned to Albuquerque a sports media person asked me how those performances compared to the NCAA all-time ranking list from the past. It was a great question but I didn’t know the exact answer so I started looking for information. I found all-time Top 10 rankings in Track & Field News, and the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association, but not much else when it came to collegiate rankings. I have always enjoyed documenting cross country & track historical achievements, so I felt it would be interesting to provide deeper rankings for anyone who might want them. Think about it, a coach could have developed the 14th fastest athlete in collegiate history, but very few would know about it, and to be 14th fastest all-time in college history is a truly exceptional accomplishment. So through the TFRRS website, USTFCCCA history pages, university athletic webpages, old Track & Field News, Track & Field Newsletters, Tilastopaja, and local newspapers I begin to collect information. Originally, I had planned to document just the Top 25 in each event, but got very interested in deeper rankings so that I, and other coaches might compare and contrast different decades and the evolution of women’s distance running. So in many regards this is a history project. I am hopeful these rankings will provide a sense of historical accomplishment, and also a sense of how women’s distance running has progressed. Twenty years ago if a female athlete ran an indoor 5000 meter performance under 16:00.00 they were looked upon as one of the nations best. Now, just in the 2018-19 indoor season 32 women ran under that threshold. It is a testament to the outstanding achievements of the coaching profession, and a positive reflection on the great athletes who compete collegiately. ONE CAVEAT FOR THE INDOOR RANKINGS SECTION. It should be noted many track & field traditionalists do not agree with listing performances made on a track that is over 200 meters in length. From 2007–2009 I conducted an NCAA research study examining flat 200 meter track conversions. Using tens of thousands of pieces of data, I submitted my findings, and the NCAA adjusted performances made on a flat 200 track. Then from 2009-2012 an exhaustive research study was commissioned by the NCAA to examine track size relative to performance. This was a much more comprehensive study than the one I undertook, and the four members did an in-depth analysis. When published, the study looked at hundreds of thousands of actual indoor performances, and concluded at that time based on available data no discernable difference could be statistically found between banked 200 meter and 300 meter oversized tracks. While many have criticized the methodology of this study, none of those individuals have done any actual research themselves to come up with data-driven factual explanations. It will continue to be an area that needs examining and discussion. Therefore, not wanting to get into a philosophical discussion regarding that study, simply put, every indoor performance will be listed, whether made on a flat 200 meter track, banked 200 meter track, or 300 meter track. Each of you can decide how you feel about the issue. Given the NCAA accepts converted performances for NCAA qualifying (whether it be track size or altitude), those have been included as well. A ** after a performance indicates this is the athletes 200 meter best, but she has a faster performance on this ranking that was done on an oversized facility. A # or @ after a performance indicates the performance was converted by the NCAA, it is not the actual performance, but the actual performance is listed. I would greatly appreciate any corrections or additions as I view this project as a continual work. It is a huge amount of data. I have tried to double check every performance, but know prior to 2009 and the advent of the TFRRS website performances were not always consistently documented. Especially from 1982 – 2000 finding accurate performances and where they occurred was challenging. If you see anything please let me know at [email protected] The cut-off thresholds that were used were performances that either qualified for the NCAA meet, or were close to NCAA qualifying over the last 5-7 years. I was surprised at how many performances fit into the cut- off thresholds. I used 16:00.00 for both the indoor and outdoor 5000 even though I knew it would mean lots of performances listed. This is due to the fact the 5000 meter distance has always been the “standard” distance race. The following were the Cut-Off Thresholds I used for inclusion in these rankings: Indoor 800: 2:05.00 Indoor 1 Mile: 4:38.00 Indoor 3000: 9:10.00 Indoor 5000: 16:00.00 Indoor DMR: 11:02.00 Outdoor 800: 2:03.00 Outdoor 1500: 4:15.00 Outdoor 3000SC: 10:00.00 Outdoor 5000: 16:00.00 Outdoor 10,000: 33:10.00 Until 1998 college best performances were allowed from the first collegiate meet an athlete competed in their freshman year until the end of August following their senior year. In other words summer competitions were included in the formal Track & Field News rankings. In 1998 that recording method changed to outdoor performances were only allowed from March 1st until the completion of the NCAA Outdoor Championships that same year. Therefore, these rankings reflect performances that end at the NCAA Outdoor Championship and no summer performances are included. Interesting Analysis: How many performances met the Cut-off Thresholds for inclusion in these rankings at the end of each decade? In other words, has there been a significant improvement in the event over the years? The 1980’s was short two years given the NCAA had just begun offering championships for women. Of course, any improvement in total numbers may be a result of several factors: 1) more young women competing in the sport; 2) the proliferation of banked/oversized indoor tracks that produce faster performances; 3) more knowledge for high school coaches through coaching education (better preparation of athletes and better coaching); 4) improved meet management specifically setting up good competition situations that lead to NCAA qualifying; 5) improved collegiate coaching; 6) more scholarship funding being placed in distance running. 1982-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009 2010-2019 Indoor 800 7 16 15 108 Indoor 1 Mile 14 14 16 160 Indoor 3000 21 10 20 151 Indoor 5000 7 15 28 147 Indoor DMR (NCAA began 1994) NA 0 10 115 Outdoor 800 21 17 23 55 Outdoor 1500 12 15 35 121 Outdoor 3000SC (NCAA began 2001) 30 84 Outdoor 5000 50 10 37 198 Outdoor 10,000 20 8 20 74 Where did the performances take place? This listing is taking all the performances on the rankings and finding out which facility was listed most. Are there certain tracks that just naturally produce high level marks? Of course, this is somewhat misleading given only a few facilities host NCAA’s, and we would assume athletes would produce their best performances at the championship. But Iowa State, Stanford, Washington, Notre Dame, Mt. SAC, and Boston University do not host NCAA Championships so their record of top-level performances is impressive. Indoor 800 Arkansas – 30 Texas A&M – 13 Iowa State - 9 Indoor 1 Mile Washington – 37 Texas A&M – 24 Arkansas – 23 Boston Univ. - 17 Indoor 3000 Washington – 62 Arkansas – 25 Boston Univ. – 14 RCADomeIndy- 13 Indoor 5000 Washington – 38 Arkansas – 35 Boston Univ. – 33 Iowa State - 20 Indoor DMR Notre Dame – 26 Arkansas – 21 Texas A&M - 15 Outdoor 800 Sacramento St. – 17 Oregon – 12 Mt. SAC – 7 Duke - 7 Outdoor 1500 Oregon – 29 Sacramento St. – 22 Stanford – 20 Drake - 18 Outdoor 3000SC Oregon – 36 Sacramento St. – 19 Stanford - 15 Texas - 7 Outdoor 5000 Stanford – 109 Mt. SAC – 48 Sacramento St. – 21 Oregon - 14 Outdoor 10,000 Stanford – 62 Oregon – 16 Sacramento St. – 10 Mt. SAC – 9 Which program had the most athletes listed in the top 100 of the events researched (800, 1mile, 3000, 5000, 800, 1500, 3000SC, 5000, 10,000) during the 1982 – 2019 time period? 1. Oregon 52 2. Stanford 44 3. Colorado 34 4. Arkansas 30 5. Villanova 27 6. Providence 25 7. New Mexico 24 Wisconsin 24 9. Tennessee 22 Michigan 22 11. Florida State 20 Washington 20 13. BYU 19 14. Iowa State 17 Boise State 17 16. Oklahoma State 14 17. Florida 13 18. LSU 11 Notre Dame 11 Georgetown 11 How About These Outstanding Athletes Accomplishments (rankings in different events) Allie Ostrander 6th Steeplechase; 8th indoor 5000; 10th 10,000; 13th 3000; 20th DMR; 27th outdoor 5000; 100th 1 Mile; 175th 1500 Jenny Barringer 1st 1500; 1st 1 mile; 1st indoor 5000; 1st outdoor 5000; 2nd Steeplechase; 2nd 3000 Sally Kipyego 2nd 10,000; 4th 1 mile; 4th 3000; 5th 1500; 5th outdoor 5000 Karissa Schweizer 1st 3000; 8th 10,000; 10th indoor 5000; 13th outdoor 5000 Weini Kelati 6th indoor 5000; 12th 3000; 16th 10,000; 16th outdoor 5000; 24th 1 Mile Vicky Huber #7 mile; #13 DMR; #15 3000; #16 1500 Lisa Koll #1 10,000; #8 outdoor 5000; #23 3000; #24 indoor 5000 Suzy Favor #2 outdoor 800; #12 1500; #17 1 mile; #70 3000 Betsy Saina #3 - 10,000; #6 outdoor 5000; #31 indoor 5000 Abby D’Agostino #4 outdoor 5000; #6 - 3000; #6 1 mile, #19 indoor 5000 One of the ways in which to compare and evaluate performance is to look at the top five performances by each decade side by side.