If the final United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll holds true, the NCAA Division II women's Outdoor Track and Field National Championships is going to come down to the wire.
Lincoln and Grand Valley State will be going head-to-head when the championships kick off today in Allendale, Mich.
Grand Valley State, which is hosting the three-day event, moved into the No. 1 spot on the women's side with 222.46 points, while Lincoln dropped to No. 2 with 221.50 in the final USTFCCA rankings.
Grand Valley State leads all teams with 28 national championship entries, compared to 19 for the Blue Tigers. But Lincoln currently owns 15 of the nation's top-10 marks, while the Lakers have 14.
Between the two teams, Lincoln and Grand Valley State have combined to win eight of the last 11 outdoor titles.
The Blue Tigers, who won championships in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, will vie for their seventh title. Lincoln is also competing for its 11th consecutive top-three finish after placing second in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and third in 2008 and 2013.
This season, Lincoln will have 15 athletes competing in 19 entries, including the 4x400-meter relay, where the team of Tamara Keane, Donna-Lee Hylton, Marcia Harrison and Willomena Willams owns the fastest time in Division II at 3:38.15.
The Blue Tigers' 4x100-meter relay team of Judith Riley, Yanique Ellington, Kimberly Bailey and Janae Johnson will also be towards the top, as the foursome enters the meet with a time of 45.59, the third-fastest in the country.
Individually, five Lincoln athletes will compete in multiple events, including Juneille Barker and Ladonna Richards, who both qualified for the 100-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles. Shakeisha Miller will also represent the Blue Tigers in the 100-meter hurdles.
Ellington and Johnson both qualified for the 100 and 200, while Keane will compete in the open 400 and 400-meter hurdles.
Barker is ranked third, while Richards is seventh and Keane is ninth in the 400-meter hurdles. Richards is fourth nationally in the 100-meter hurdles, while Barker is eighth and Miller is 12th. Ellington is tied for third in the 100 and seventh in the 200, while Johnson ranks fifth in the 200 and seventh in the 100. Keane, meanwhile, is fifth in the 400.
Monique Thompson and Jhevere Hall will both compete in the 800, while Hylton and Williams will both run the open 400. Thompson is ranked fourth, while Hall is ranked 8th. Hylton is currently third and Williams is 15th in the 400.
Nickeisha Beaumont will represent Lincoln in the long jump, while Daniele Newman will compete in the long jump to round out the entries for the Blue Tigers.
Lincoln and Grand Valley State aren't the only teams in contention to win a title. Adams State (186.41), Johnson C. Smith (168.98) and Ashland (156.54) round out the top-five teams in the women's rankings.
Lincoln is one of four programs in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association listed in the top-25. Central Missouri is ranked No. 6 with 221.50 points, while Pittsburg State is No. 10 with 81.13 and Missouri Southern is No. 20 with 54.00.
The men's meet could be a little more one-sided.
Saint Augustine's continues to hold a firm lead, once again owning the No. 1 spot with 329 points. Adams State is a distant second with 227.36, while Texas A&M-Kingsville (1995.55), Ashland (176.09) and Chico State (131.30) round out the top-five teams.
Lincoln remained at No. 6 for the third straight week with 119.72 - 210 points behind Saint Augustine's. Lincoln is the MIAA's highest-ranked program, followed by Pittsburg State, which is No. 8 with 94.45 points. Central Missouri is ranked No. 10 with 78.37 and Emporia State is No. 24 with 43.22.
The Blue Tigers are coming off a sixth-place finish at last year's outdoor national championships and a fourth-place finish at this year's MIAA championships.
Lincoln had nine athletes qualify for 11 entries, with Romel Lewis and Romone Hill leading the way with three entries apiece.
Lewis and Hill will join Khorey Spalding and Wesley Best on the 4x100-meter relay team. Lincoln will also have its 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of Michael Ashley, Roger Blake, Jermaine Blake and Winston Edwards, in action. Both relays are ranked sixth in Division II.
Individually, Lewis and Hill will both race in the 100, where the pair respectively own the second and third-fastest times. Hill will also compete in the 200, while Lewis will enter the 400-meter hurdles ranked fourth.
Michael Ashley and Roger Blake will run the 400, while Jermaine Blake will compete in the 800. Best rounds out Lincoln's track entries, joining Hill in the 200.
Orneldo Thomas, Lincoln's lone qualifier in a field event, will compete in the long jump, where he ranks sixth.