NEW ORLEANS (Feb. 12, 2019) - Central Missouri Men's Track and Field back up into the top five of the UATFCCCA Rankings to No. 5 this week after a number of impressive performances from Nathan Cummings, Brad Jenkins, as well as the 4x400m relay team at the Bearcat Invite. Cummings recorded a new personal best with an automatic qualifying throw of 61-5.75 in the shot put, which is No. 2 in Division II this season and makes him first in UCM indoor history. Jenkins also had a big day for the Mules in the triple jump, with a personal best and provisional qualifying mark of 50-00.75, which is No. 5 in Division II this season and moves him up to eighth in UCM indoor history. The last component that pushed this Mules team up two spots in the rankings was the 4x400m relay team that included  Chris Donald, Tanner Skotnicki, Noah Larsen, and Jacob Weber that finished with a provisionally qualifying time of 3:13.01, currently ranking them No. 8 in Division II and fifth fastest in UCM indoor history.

The USTFCCCA rating summary is determined by points accumulated by individual athletes and their respective places on the national best-of list. Individual points are then added up to form a team score. This week, the Mules totaled 96.85 points in the ratings, up 20.43 points from a week ago.

The Mules have two ranked in the top-six in the pole vault in Vincent Hobbie and Jan Jansky. Hobbie continues to lead the NCAA and has a new mark of 17-6.25. Jansky is sixth having cleared 17-00.00 which is a personal best. Hobbie's mark is an NCAA automatic qualifier. 

Sticking with the jumps, which UCM is getting a lot of mileage out of, they have four provisional qualifying marks in the long, triple and high jumps. Brad Jenkins is now fourth in the NCAA at 50-00.75 in the triple jump while Chris Goodwin is also in the top-10 in the long jump, coming in 10th at 24-0.25.

Trey Miller has the other two jumps qualifying marks as well as a qualifying score in the heptathlon. He is 23nd in the long jump (23-7.25) and 27th in the high jump (6-8.25) and 21st in the multi with 4982 points.

Over in the throws where UCM has three qualifiers, and two sitting in the top-11. Nathan Cummings and  Dalton Lewallen second and 11th in the shot put at 61-5.75 and 58-7.25, respectively and Nathan Liby is 11th in the weight throw having thrown 64-5.25.

On the track, Chris Donald has hit provo marks in two events, the 60m hurdles, and the 400m dash. He ranks 10th in the high hurdles with a time of 8.05 and 25th in the quarter-mile running 48.26.

Zion Perry and Akeemo Minott are the Mules final provisional qualifiers having run 6.88 and 6.89 for the 60m dash.

Adams State, Ashland, Grand Valley State, and Tiffin make up the top-4 teams in the rankings while Central Missouri rounds out the top-five.

The Mules will return to Warrensburg for the UCM Classic Friday, Feb. 15.