Cobbers Climb Into Division III Top 25

MOORHEAD, Minn. (4/17/15)—Behind the strength of several outstanding individual performances at the St. Benedict Quadrangular on Saturday, Concordia has moved into the top 25 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III national rankings. The Cobbers are also ranked in the top 5 of the Central Region.

The Cobbers are currently ranked 23rd in the USTFCC Division III national poll and fourth in the Central Region rankings.

The national and regional rankings are formed by taking the number of athletes on each team that are ranked nationally. Concordia has five athletes that are ranked in the top 20 of the nation in individual events this season.

Cherae Reeves is ranked second in the nation in the shot put. Reeves, who won the national championship in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Meet, has a season-best distance of 47-05.25 which she posted at last weekend's St. Ben's meet.

Junior teammate Olivia Johnson is ranked in the top 20 in two different events. Johnson is fifth in the shot put and 14th in the javelin. Both of her top 20 marks were also posted last weekend. She recorded a throw of 45-01.50 in the shot put and then came away with a distance of 136-06 in the javelin.

Concordia has a third athlete ranked in the top 20 of the shot put. Sophomore Mandy Mercil is tied for the No.19 spot in the event. Her season-best distance of 42-04.75 came in the opening meet of the outdoor season on Mar. 28.

Hillary Birchem has the other top national ranking for the Cobbers. She is currently ranked second in the discus with a mark of 157-05. She posted that distance last weekend and earned MIAC Field Athlete of the Week honors for her feat.

Mikayla Forness is the final member of Concordia to enter the top 20 in the nation. She has the ninth highest score in the heptathlon. Forness put up a career-best total of 4,063 points at last weekend's St. Ben's Multi-Event Meet. Her total was also the ninth highest in school history.

Concordia will look to place other members of the team in the top 25 of the nation when they compete at the Carleton Relays on Saturday, Apr. 18 at 10 a.m.

USTFCCCA Division III National Rankings - Apr. 14
1. UW-La Crosse
2. UW-Oshkosh               
3. UW-Whitewater         
4. Johns Hopkins             
5. Wartburg       
6. MIT  
7. Illinois Wesleyan         
8. Cal Lutheran 
9. George Fox   
10. Baldwin Wallace
11. UW-Eau Claire           
12. North Central (Ill.)   
13. Washington (Mo.)   
14. St. Lawrence              
15. Rowan          
16. Mount Union             
17. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps     
18. Westminster (Pa.)   
19. Central (Iowa)           
20. Willamette  
21. Carleton       
22. Whitworth  
23. Concordia-Moorhead            
24. SUNY Cortland          
25. Nebraska Wesleyan

USTFCCCA Division III Central Region Rankings - Apr. 14
1. Wartburg
2. Central (Iowa)
3. Nebraska Wesleyan
4. Concordia-Moorhead
5. St. Thomas (Minn.)
6. Carleton
7. St. Benedict
8. Loras
9. Dubuque
10. Bethel (Minn.)