NEW ORLEANS, La. --- The Tusculum University men's indoor track and field team remains 23rd in Division II according to this week's ratings from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Pioneers increased their rating by 2.70 points from last week, up to 38.20 points in the current ratings from the USTFCCCA. Tusculum is the second-highest rated team in both the South Atlantic Conference and the Southeast Region, trailing only Queens University of Charlotte which is rated 17th this week.
Senior sprinter Widchard Guervil is ranked second nationally in the 200 meters and third in the 60 meters, accounting for 37.13 of the Pioneers' rating points. Guervil ran 6.69 in the 60 meters at last Friday's USC Open and has a season-best time of 21.13 seconds in the 200 meters at the VMI Indoor Classic on Feb. 12.
Junior sprinter Zackary Nelson accounts for the remaining 1.07 points of the Pioneers' rating, which increased from last week after he moved from 22nd to 16th on the Division II performance list in the 400 meters with a time of 48.15 seconds at the USC Open.
The Pioneers continue to rank among the top 10 in Division II in the men's 60 meters and men's 200 meters according to the USTFCCCA Event Squad rankings, which rates teams based on the cumulative season-best marks for a school's top four athletes in an event. Tusculum is sixth in the 60 meters with a team average of 6.85 seconds, and tied for seventh in the 200 meters with an average best time of 21.82 seconds.
Pittsburg State continues to rank first in Division II in the men's indoor ratings, with Grand Valley State up a spot to second this week. Colorado School of Mines dropped one position to third, with Ashland and West Texas A&M rounding out the top five.
The Pioneers will participate in the SAC Indoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 26-27 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship will be March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kansas.
- TU -
