Thursday, April 7, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – Thanks to their high national placings in women’s basketball and both men’s and women’s indoor track and field, Alaska Anchorage has moved up to second place in the Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings.

The standings, which includes the 10 NCAA winter championship sports, were released on Thursday. The Seawolves lead four GNAC programs in the top-40 of the Directors’ Cup standings following the winter season.

The No. 2 ranking is the highest in Alaska Anchorage history. The Seawolves earned 282.75 points during the winter season after receiving top-20 finishes from women’s basketball (second), skiing (ninth), women’s indoor track and field (ninth) and men’s indoor track and field (14th). Those runs supplemented strong playoff runs in the fall by the Seawolves’ men’s and women’s cross country and volleyball programs.

Simon Fraser finished the winter at No. 20 in the Directors’ Cup standings. The Clan was bolstered by a 10th place finish in a non-GNAC sport, men’s swimming, along with national championship finishes in wrestling (23rd), women’s swimming (27th), men’s indoor track and field (36th) and women’s indoor track and field (43rd).

Seattle Pacific is No. 30 in the winter standings, led by the Falcons’ 11th place finish in women’s indoor track and field. Western Washington finished the winter ranked No. 32.

Grand Valley State continues to lead the Directors’ Cup standings with a total of 765 points. Colorado School of Mines is third with 441 points followed by UC San Diego (421 points) and Queens (N.C.) (402.50 points).

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup is a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletices (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s NCAA finish in up to 14 sports, seven women’s and seven men’s. The final rankings, which quantify the national success of all 317 NCAA Division II program, will be finalized after the completion of the spring championships season in June. Simon Fraser led the GNAC last year with a 26th place finish.