March 5, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The JU women's track & field team hard the largest rise in the country as they jumped 39 spots in the national rankings today to be ranked 27 by the USTCCCA, and earn the highest ranking in school history.

Led by junior jumpers Natasha Harvey and Shaquania Lundy, who recorded the number three and four long jumps in the country, the Dolphins won their third consecutive Atlantic Sun Championship last week with a record-setting performance.

The Dolphins recorded 157 points, the most in an A-Sun indoor championship and their margin of victory (74) was the largest in conference history. 16 Dolphins earned all-conference honors, including six conference champions. In the process, the Dolphins set three conference records, including Harvey's long jump of 21-03.75", which helped her win "Outstanding Field Performer" becoming the third consecutive Dolphin to earn the honor. No other school has had an athlete claim this award in its existence.

Though they had an outstanding meet, the Dolphins success was more than just Harvey and Lundy, as 14 of the 17 Dolphins scored points.

The Dolphins scored in 14 of 17 events and had two or more scorers in eight of the 15 individual events. The distance medley relay team and the 4x400-meter team also earned all-conference honors.

Lundy and Harvey will be back in action on March 14th as they compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Complete Rankings
Rank School
1 LSU
2 Arizona State
3 Tennessee
4 Michigan
5 Texas A&M
6 Stanford
7 Minnesota
8 Kansas
9 Florida State
10 Florida
11 Penn State
12 Texas
13 Arkansas
14 Texas Tech
15 Virginia Tech
16 Mississippi
17 UTEP
18 Oregon
19 South Carolina
20 Washington
21 Arizona
22 Kentucky
23 Georgia Tech
24 Alabama
25 Kansas State
26 North Carolina
27 Jacksonville
28 Southern Illinois
29 Iowa
30 Georgia