Friday, April 5, 2019

CLEVELAND – Thanks to strong performances on the national stage in indoor track and field, Simon Fraser and Alaska Anchorage are ranked in the top-10 of the final winter Division II standings for the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup.

Simon Fraser finished the winter ranked No. 7 among 229 ranked Division II schools. Alaska Anchorage is ranked No. 10. With the two schools, the GNAC stands as one of just three conferences with two or more teams in the top-10.

The conference has four schools in the Directors’ Cup top-100, which ranks schools based on their success in NCAA Championships events. Western Washington closed the winter at No. 30 while Seattle Pacific is ranked No. 74.

Simon Fraser received significant points from both its men’s indoor track and field teams, which placed 21st at the NCAA Championships to earn a total of 51.5 points. The Clan, however, received its most points from non-GNAC sports. The SFU men’s swim team placed ninth and the women placed 13th, with both programs scoring 63 points in the standings. The wrestling program placed 28th to earn 46 points.

Alaska Anchorage was led by its women’s indoor track and field team, which placed fourth to earn 80 points in the standings. It was the highest-ever placing for a GNAC team, men or women, at the Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships. The men finished 52nd to earn 20 points. The Seawolves also collected a ninth-place finish in women’s basketball, collecting 64 points. The ski program, a non-GNAC sport, placed eighth for a score of 66 points.

Grand Valley State leads the Directors’ Cup standings after the winter season with 715 points. UC San Diego is the highest-ranked West Region team, ranked fifth with 422.50 points.

The Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup evaluates an athletic program’s success based on each institution’s finish in the NCAA Championship. The winter standings included points gained from finishes in basketball, fencing, ice hockey, rifle, skiing, swimming, indoor track and field and wrestling.

The Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA and NAIA Championships. Separate standings are published for each of the NCAA’s three divisions as well as the NAIA.