Dragons finish best-ever 25th in Learfield Cup standings

Tiffin University finished 25th in the Learfield Cup standings.
Tiffin University finished 25th in the Learfield Cup standings.

It was the best Division II season ever for Tiffin University, as the Dragons finished 25th in the Learfield/IMG Director's Cup standings.

This is the highest Tiffin has been ranked since their move to D2 in 2008 when they placed 205th. It is also the highest they have finished since 2017, when Tiffin finished 36th. The previous highest finish ever for Tiffin came in 2016 when they placed 34th. 

Tiffin totaled 477 points and was the highest ranked G-MAC school, easily outpacing Findlay (42nd with 350.75). No other G-MAC school cracked the Top 50. Grand Valley State led the pack with 1004 points, followed by US San Diego with 826. 

For the Dragons, it was a magical year that saw 11 teams engage in NCAA Championship competition, eight team champions, seven Coach of the Year honors, six Player of the Year awards, three Freshman of the Year citations, 140 All-Conference recognitions, and a school record 76 Player of the Week honorees.

Men's and women's track and field won both the indoor and outdoor titles, while men's soccer and men's tennis also won G-MAC regular season and tournament titles. Women's lacrosse also won the regular season championship and baseball claimed the tournament championship.

Jeremy Croy earned four Coach of the Year honors in track, while Phil Conley (men's tennis), Joey Simcoe (men's wrestling), and Erica Brown (women's lacrosse) also garnered top coaching honors.

Kangni Gabianou (men's soccer defensive player of the year), Miguel Garcia (men's swimming), Trey Grine (men's wrestling), and Elle Hamilton (women's lacrosse) were Player of the Year winners, while Miaisha Blair was twice named Field Athlete of the Year for indoor and outdoor track.

Garcia, Amanda Johansson (women's golf), and Nicole Berry (track and field) were named Freshman of the Year.

Three teams qualified for NCAA postseason play, with men's soccer, women's golf, and baseball getting the nods. 

Tiffin University's men's indoor track squad finished 3rd at the National Championships, while Tiffin also had two individual national champions - Jonte Baker in indoor track, and Nick Mason in men's wrestling. In outdoor track competition, Tiffin finished 5th overall, with Baker winning another title in the 100 meters while teaming with Elijah Gauldin, Zion Cross, and Quincy Scott to win the 4x100 national title. Marisa Gwinner also became the first women's athlete to win a national title, taking first in the high jump.

For the complete rankings, click HERE.