Big points from women’s golf and men’s track and field assisted in William Penn moving up in the top 100 as the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings were released today.
The Statesmen finished with 176.5 points, including 83 in the spring, to place 88th in the NAIA. A total of 186 NAIA institutions scored points this year, while nearly 300 schools comprise the division. It is the 11th time in 14 years that the navy and gold have been in the top 100 since joining the NAIA in 2001-2002.
WPU earned 52.5 points from a 12th-place nationals finish by the women’s golf team, while the All-American finishes by Derek Seddon and Cornelius McCastle helped the men’s outdoor track and field team to 30.5 points (40th place) at its national meet.
During the winter, the wrestling (55 points) and men’s indoor track and field team teams (38.5 points) also picked up points for the Statesmen.
Oklahoma Baptist won its third-straight Cup title with 854.5 points, highlighted by national titles in men’s and women’s swimming and women’s indoor track and field. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (823.5 points), Oklahoma City (802.75), Wayland Baptist (Texas) (800), and Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (787.25) rounded out the top five.
Complete standings can be found at http://www.statesmenathletics.com/d/2014-15/NAIA{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Directors{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Cup{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Final.pdfhttp://www.statesmenathletics.com/d/2014-15/NAIA{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Directors{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Cup{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}20Final.pdf
William Penn ranked third among all Midwest Collegiate Conference institutions. Grand View topped the group in 14th place with 568 points, while St. Ambrose was 55th with 268 points. All seven MCC programs made it into the Cup standings with Viterbo (119th, 113.5 points), Mount Mercy (131st, 88 points), Clarke (141st, 76.5 points), and AIB (170th, 25 points) also scoring points.
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 men’s and women’s.
For complete standings and the scoring structure, go to http://www.nacda.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-current-scoring.html
Story By Wade Steinlage
