Southern Illinois University women's track and field team landed on both the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and the Trackwire polls after a sixth-place finish at the Mideast Regional Meet last weekend at the University of Tennessee.

Amarachi Ukabam won the shot put and discus, while Brittany Riley won the hammer to make up 30 of the teams 35 points in the meet. Ty Davis finished fourth in the 800-meter run to add five points to the Saluki total.

Southern entered the coaches association poll at No. 19, just ahead of the University of Illinois and is the only non-BCS school to make the list.

SIU has floated in and out of the Trackwire 25 poll during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. The Saluki women were ranked as high as ninth during the indoor season and enter this week tied for No. 22 with Texas-Christian, North Carolina State and Notre Dame.

According to Trackwire.com, the Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualfying competitions across the country. This projection is generated by scoring the Dandy Dozen, a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.

Ukabam, Riley and Davis will compete at the 2006 NCAA National Championships June 7-11 in Sacramento, Calif.

U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association DI Coaches Poll (5/30/06)
1) University of Texas
2) University of Southern California
3) University of Miami (FL)
4) University of Georgia
5) University of Nebraska
6) University of South Carolina
7) Arizona State University
8) Louisiana State University
9) Auburn University
10) UCLA
11) Stanford University
12) University of Oregon
13) University of Michigan
14) University of North Carolina
15) University of Tennessee
16) Florida State University
17) Texas A&M University
18) University of Minnesota
19) Southern Illinois University
20) University of Illinois

www.trackwire.com Top 25
1. Texas, 59
2. USC, 40
3. Miami, 39
4. Auburn, 36
5. South Carolina, 34
6. LSU, 32
7. Nebraska, 31
8. Arizona State, 29
9. Georgia, 26
10. Michigan, 24
11. UCLA, 22
12. Minnesota, 21
t13. Alabama, 19
t13. Oregon, 19
t13. Iowa, 19
16. Tennessee, 18
17. Stanford, 17
18. Illinois, 16
t19. North Carolina, 15
t19. Florida State, 15
21. Washington State, 12
t22. Southern Illinois, 11
t22. TCU, 11
t22. NC State, 11
t22. Notre Dame, 11