INDIANAPOLIS - Automatic qualification from the distance medley relay unit was just one of the reasons Cedarville's women continue to climb the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association's national poll.
The Yellow Jackets moved up six spots into a No. 13 national ranking for the week four poll. Cedarville first broke into the poll in week three with a No. 19 rating. Ursuline debuted in the national poll at No. 16 in week two.
Cedarville competed at the Grand Valley State Big Meet, separated into two days of competition on Friday and Saturday.
The DMR grouping of Olivia Kundo, Lyndsey Smith, Olivia Esbenshade and Carsyn Koch, blazed to an automatic qualifying time of 11:29.57, a new G-MAC record and second only to Adams State in the country this year.
Esbenshade, the reigning G-MAC Indoor Women's Track Athlete of the Week, also set a new conference record in the 3K at 9:50.28.
Christy Jesson established a new indoor G-MAC standard in the 5K distance with a time of 17:36.01. Additionally, Alaina Spears and Kayla Casaletto both clocked 5K times that would have toppled the previous record going into the meet.
This is the second year the Cedarville women's DMR unit is returning to the NCAA DII National Championships. The national meet is held in Birmingham, Ala., this year at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The 2016 national championship-qualifying DMR foursome included Esbenshade, Smith, Sarah Hoffman and Hailey (Bredeson) Blackwell.
It is also the second automatic qualifier Cedarville has had during the current 2016-17 indoor season after Koch secured an automatic bid in the 800-meter run at the Joe Banks Invitational. She will be attempting to defend her national indoor title from 2016.
The G-MAC Championships will be hosted by Cedarville later this month (Feb. 25) at Cedarville's Doden Field House for the second consecutive time.
Incoming G-MAC member institutions also made their mark in the national rankings. Hillsdale checked in at No. 16 after being 13th in the week three poll. Findlay and Walsh are ranked back-to-back at No. 20 and No. 21, respectively.