WACO, Texas ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢' ¬" The Baylor women's track and field team was ranked No. 11 in the preseason edition of the NCAA National Team Computer Rankings that the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released Wednesday.

The No. 11 preseason ranking is the highest in program history as the rankings debuted in 2008. BU's previous high ranking to start a season was No. 15 in 2013.

The women finished seventh at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, but lost several key components to last year's squad including All-Americans Rachel Johnson, Mariah Kelley and Raena Rhone. Last season, BU was ranked No. 26 to start the year. The Lady Bears have gone on to finish higher at the NCAA meet than their preseason rank in three of the last five years.

The women racked up a total of 70.82 points in the computer-generated rankings. The points are compiled by a mathematical formula based on national descending order lists from 2015 of returning athletes.

The Lady Bears get a large portion of their points from Olicia Williams, who is second in the 800 meters. The women also get points from Brianna Richardson, who has the third-best returning triple jump mark and Annie Rhodes, who has the seventh-best height in the pole vault. Maggie Montoya (mile & 3,000 meters), Jenna Pfeiffer (pentathlon) and the distance medley relay also contributed to the overall total with top marks in 2015.

Baylor will open the season with the Texas A&M Team Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 16 in College Station, Texas.

For the latest information on the Baylor track team, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.