NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – For the first time in school history, the A&M-Commerce men's T&F team is ranked No. 1 in all of Division II following the latest national poll conducted by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
The team has been maintaining a top-ten ranking for the last seven consecutive weeks in their already monumental season. Moving to No. 1 in track is a first for A&M-Commerce, which has had T&F since 1926. The highest the Lions were ever ranked before this year was in 1959 and 1960, when they finished second in the country in the NAIA national championships. In fact, it is the first time any A&M-Commerce sport has been ranked No. 1 since the 1975 men's tennis team won the national championship.
 
"We actually did expect this after the way our kids performed at the conference meet", said head coach Tom Dibbern, "After all, we put up some huge marks."
 
The ranking comes on the heels of the Lions' victory at the LSC Championship, becoming the first team in Lone Star Conference history to win the Indoor and Outdoor titles in the same season. The Lions won the outdoor championship with 195 team points, well-ahead of second place West Texas A&M (166). Over the course of the meet, six school-records were broken, two LSC Championship records were broken, and one facility record was broken.
 
Unsurprisingly, the Lions also maintain their first overall ranking in the South Central Regional Index with a team score of 564.24, which stands far atop second place West Texas A&M (403.61). They have been ranked No. 1 in the region since the second week of the outdoor season.
 
The Lions will enjoy their accomplishments for the next couple days before getting back to work in preparation for the NCAA Championships in Allendale, Michigan. That meet is scheduled to run from May 21 through May 23 on the campus of Grand Valley State.
 
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association is a New Orleans-based professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track and field coaches in the United States with approximately 8000 members.