Women's Indoor Track & Field ranked No. 5 in USTFCCCA Preseason Power Rankings
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's indoor track and field team is ranked No. 5 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason power rankings, released on Thursday afternoon.
The Polar Bears finished tied for fifth as a team at the 2017 Indoor National Championships, posting the best team finish at the indoor championships in school.
Northern returns two All-American's in senior Emily Richards (Delaware/Hayes) and junior Maddy Reed (Piketon).
ONU received 74.07 points in the rankings, while Oberlin held the No. 1 spot with 100.06 points, MIT was ranked second with 91.22 points and Misericordia (Pa.) rounded out the top-3 with 84.23 points.
The Polar Bears open the 2018 campaign on Friday, Jan. 19 as they travel to Berea to compete in the Ohio Athletic Conference Split Meet.
USTFCCCA Power Rankings - Preseason
Jan. 11, 2018
| Rank | School | Pts. | 2017 Final Rank |
| 1. | Oberlin | 100.06 | 18 |
| 2. | MIT | 91.22 | 5 |
| 3. | Misericordia (Pa.) | 84.23 | 14 |
| 4. | Ithaca (N.Y.) | 76.47 | 2 |
| 5. | Ohio Northern | 74.07 | 5 |
| 6. | Williams (Mass.) | 72.52 | 4 |
| 7. | U. of Chicago | 64.79 | 27 |
| 8. | Bridgewater (Va.) | 55.91 | 7 |
| 9. | Johns Hopkins (Md.) | 55.36 | 27 |
| 10. | George Fox (Ore.) | 51.97 | 3 |
| 11. | Illinois Wesleyan | 48.04 | 33 |
| 12. | Wis.-Oshkosh | 46.25 | 56 |
| 13. | UMass Boston | 45.08 | 9 |
| 14. | Brandies (Mas.) | 44.39 | NR |
| 15. | SUNY Geneseo | 43.24 | 8 |
| 16. | Dubuque (Iowa) | 42.84 | 21 |
| 17. | Wis.-Stevens Point | 40.60 | 61 |
| 18. | Loras (Iowa) | 39.16 | 26 |
| 19. | Whitworth (Wash.) | 37.90 | 33 |
| 20. | Tufts (Mass.) | 34.86 | 41 |
| 21. | Carthage (Wis.) | 32.86 | 33 |
| 22. | Rochester (N.Y.) | 32.76 | 14 |
| 23. | WPI | 32.24 | NR |
| 24. | Gwynedd-Mercy (Pa.) | 32.18 | 21 |
| 25. | Ohio Wesleyan | 32.15 | 11 |