SOU, CU Lead CCC in Directors' Cup Standings
COMPLETE STANDINGS
CLEVELAND—Led by top-15 showings from Southern Oregon and Concordia University, four members of the Cascade Collegiate Conference cracked the top 50 in the latest in the March 10 edition of the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings.
Behind the strength of a national title in men’s cross country, Southern Oregon continued to lead the Cascade Collegiate Conference by tying for 12th place in the standings with 289 points. The Raiders added 69 points with the wrestling team culminating the season in ninth place.
With 112 points generated from performances at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, Concordia University sits in 14th place in the standings with 280 points. The Cavalier women’s track & field team placed ninth overall for the school’s third program to record a top-10 finish at nationals and earn an additional 69 points in the standings while the men’s track & field squad finished the indoor season in 31st place for 43 points. Concordia received an eighth-place result from the women’s cross country team and a ninth-place finish by the women’s soccer team in the fall.
Eastern Oregon scored a pair of top-12 finishes at indoor track nationals to move up 20 spots to 26th place after ending the fall season 46th in the standings while College of Idaho fell to No. 35 in the poll to also represent the CCC.
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) retained the top spot in the first winter NAIA Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings with 538.50 points. The Cougars recorded three top-10 finishes, placing third in women’s indoor track & field, fourth in men’s indoor track & field and fifth in women’s swimming & diving.
Lindenwood (Mo.) has earned its way into the top five after earning a winter total high of 370.50 points, giving them a second place total of 446.50 points. The Lions finished second in men’s wrestling, third in men’s swimming & diving, seventh in women’s swimming & diving, eighth in women’s indoor track & field and 24th in men’s indoor track and field.
Trailing the Lions by just two points in third place is Simon Fraser (B.C.). The Clan recorded three top- 10 finishes, including a second place finish in women’s indoor track & field and fourth place finishes in both men’s and women’s swimming & diving. Simon Fraser also finished 24th in men’s wrestling and 51st in men’s indoor track & field for a total of 444.50 points.
The Golden State Athletic Conference has set the pace thus far by having five of its member institutions finish in the top 10. Following Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (first) and Fresno Pacific (Calif.) (fourth), is Biola (Calif.) (sixth) and California Baptist (seventh).
Five winter NAIA championships have been completed to date with the following institutions capturing titles: men’s swimming & diving - Fresno Pacific (Calif.); women’s swimming & diving – California Baptist; men’s indoor track & field - Shorter (Ga.); women’s indoor track & field - Oklahoma Baptist; men’s wrestling - Notre Dame (Ohio).
The Learfield Sports 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 up to 12 sports -- six women’s and six men’s. The final winter NAIA standings will be released Thursday, March 24, 2011. Please note, standings published midseason are unofficial. Official standings will be published upon the completion of the spring season. Complete standings and the scoring structure can be found on NACDA’s website at www.directorscup.org. In addition, please visit www.thedirectorscup.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/lsdirectorscup or follow us on Twitter @lsdirectorscup.