After spending the first three weeks at No. 1 in the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Top 25, the Barton men slipped to No. 2 this week.
The Cougars gap between first and second with Iowa Central had been closing each week. This week the Tritons passed Barton by the narrowest of margins.
The Top 25 poll is based on a point total from actual times and distances and is released by the United States Track and Field Association.
Iowa Central is first with 298.55 points with Barton on its heels with 296.31. Also closing in on both Barton and Iowa Central is South Plains (Texas). The Texans remained third with 276.07 points. A pair of Jayhawk Conference schools followed with Cloud County fourth with 232.43 and Coffeyville fifth at 157.91
A season-high nine Jayhawk schools now appear in the rankings. Last week and back in week one there were eight schools but the addition of Allen County this week pushes that number to nine. In addition to the three in the Top 5, Hutchinson and Garden City are both ranked in the Top 20 at 13th and 18th.
The remaining four Jayhawk schools occupy the final four spots in the Top 25. Colby, Cowley, Butler and Allen are 22-25 in the poll. The Region VI Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place Sunday in Ahearn Fieldhouse. The NJCAA Championships are set for March 2-3 in Lubbock, Texas.

Men’s NJCAA Top 25
1 Iowa Central 298.55
2 Barton 296.31
3 South Plains 276.07
4 Cloud County 232.43
5 Coffeyville 157.91
6 Mesa 152.52
7 Meridian 147.57
8 Western Texas 144.70
9 Paradise Valley 139.52
10 Trinidad State 134.03
11 Central Arizona 132.85
12 Monroe 108.58
13 Hutchinson 95.94
14 Pima 93.60
15 Hinds 82.44
16 Iowa Western 74.81
17 Arkansas Baptist 63.90
18 Garden City 48.77
19 Gillette 47.64
20 Vincennes 42.64
21 Southwestern Iowa 42.00
22 Colby 32.38
23 Cowley 32.16
24 Butler 31.01
25 Allen 27.19