2021 NJCAA Women's Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – Welcome to the NJCAA postseason!
It’s high time that we look at the most recent installment of the NJCAA Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index, which was released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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Only two of the top-10 teams remained in place between Week 4 and Week 5 as a number of changes happened following various conference and regional championships meets.
Cloud County CC bolstered its position atop the National Rating Index with some big efforts at the Region VI Championships this past weekend. None were larger than what Mercy Ntia-Obong did in the 60, as she clocked a time of 7.31 in the prelims to become the No. 2 performer in NJCAA history in that event (Ntia-Obong later won both the 60 and 200). Pamela Milano also gave the T-Birds a boost by cementing her spot atop the leaderboard in the 600 (1:32.82).
South Plains College jumped three spots from No. 5 to No. 2. The Lady Texans now have 17 marks that rank among the top-10 nationally, including a recent national leader from Joniar Thomas in the pentathlon at 3291 points. Rosemary Chukwuma played a big part in SPC’s rise, notching top-5 marks in both the 60 (No. 2, 7.35c/7.33A) and 200 (No. 3, 24.11c/24.04A).
Iowa Western CC moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3. The Reivers now have five NJCAA-leading marks on their ledger after the Region XI Championships: Nickisha Pryce in both the 200 (23.71c/24.07) and 400 (55.07c/55.80); Faith Linga in the 5000 (18:09.56c/18:17.90); Aliyah McNeil in the high jump (1.72m/5-7¾) as well as the DMR squad at 12:47.13c (12:55.34).
Iowa Central CC fell two spots from No. 2 to No. 4 to no fault of its own. Chloe Lenoir took over the national lead in the mile at 5:09.51c (5:12.57) this past weekend, while Odell Frye is now ranked top-10 in two events (No. 2 in the 60 and No. 7 in the 200) and Madison Johnson is ranked third in the high jump at 1.65m (5-5).
Barton County CC fell two spots to No. 5, even after a strong weekend. The Cougars were able to add or improve six national top-10 marks at the Region VI Championships.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 5: No. 6 Butler CC, No. 7 Cowley College, No. 8 Fort Scott CC, No. 9 Hawkeye CC and No. 10 Bryant & Stratton (Va.).
The 2021 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held March 5-6 at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas.