By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA                                                                   May 31, 2016 

NEW ORLEANS — With the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in the books and Hayward Field coming into focus, the National Team Computer Rankings pegged Texas A&M as the overwhelming favorite to capture its fourth championship in seven years.

NCAA DIVISION I NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS TOP 5 – MEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Texas A&M Florida Oregon LSU Arkansas 337.55 pts 258.88 pts 256.90 pts 228.88 pts 222.16 pts View Complete Men’s National Team Computer Rankings

Texas A&M continued to hold steady atop the Pre-NCAA Preliminaries edition of the National Team Computer Rankings announced Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), but the chase pack is starting to creep up.

The top-ranked Aggies will send 17 entries to Eugene, Oregon in hopes of adding the 2016 title to its haul that includes the ones from 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 (shared).

Texas A&M’s championship hopes hinge on the possibility of seven scoring chances in the jump events. That’s the most bids of any men’s team in that discipline, while the Aggies also bring three entries in the throwing events, two each in the sprints/hurdles, mid-distance and relays, and one more in the combined events.

So who’s chasing Texas A&M and its 78.67-point advantage over the rest of the field?

For starters, Florida and Oregon are in a dead heat behind the Aggies. The second-ranked Gators and third-ranked Ducks are separated by a mere 1.98 points.

While Florida only has 12 entries to Eugene, 10 of them are ranked in the top-10 on the descending order list. Seven of the Gators’ bids are in the sprints and hurdles, which is the second most among all men’s teams. Florida also has two entries in the jumps, relays and one in the throws.

Host Oregon brings 17 entries to NCAAs — just like Texas A&M — and has them sprinkled across the board — just like Texas A&M. The Ducks own four entrants in the sprints/hurdles, three in mid-distance, distance and throws, two in combined events, one in the jumps and one in relays.

No team has more scoring chances in Eugene than fifth-ranked Arkansas. There are 20 opportunities for the Razorbacks to leave their mark on the proceedings, including eight in the sprints/hurdles and five in the jumps. Only six of those entries are ranked in the top-10 nationally at this point, however.

Three teams made major moves in the pre-championship rankings: seventh-ranked Virginia Tech, eighth-ranked Tennessee and ninth-ranked Missouri.

The Hokies jumped six spots from last week thanks to the gaggle of vaulters headed to Eugene. Virginia Tech qualified four in the pole vault in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Volunteers went from 12th to eighth, giving them their best ranking this season. Six of Tennessee’s seven entries in Eugene are ranked in the top-10 nationally.

Then there are the Tigers, surging nine spots to a school-record rank after their impressive showing in Kansas. Missouri has seven chances to score at Hayward Field.

Five teams dropped out of the top-25 — Texas, Stanford, Minnesota, Florida State and Kansas — which opened the door for five more to join. Those are No. 18 Mississippi, No. 19 Akron, No. 21 Clemson, No. 22Air Force and No. 25 BYU.

All of these teams — and more — will be in action from June 8-11 at the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The National Team Computer Rankings are complied by a mathematical formula based on national descending order lists. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race.

Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points.

A full description of the rankings can be found here.