DIII Outdoor Track & Field Preseason Team Rankings Announced
NEW ORLEANS — The USTFCCCA released Preseason National Team Computer Rankings for the 2012 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field season on Wednesday. The men’s list is headed by UW-La Crosse (185.30) who is ever-so slightly ahead of in-state and in-conference rival UW-Oshkosh (185.12). On the women’s side, Wartburg leads by a wide margin to start the season, coming off an indoor national title where they set an NCAA meet-record with 99 points.
National Ranking PDFs: Top 25 | Full by Team | Event-by-Event | Week-by-Week
Previous Rankings
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III |
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Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2012 Preseason — March 28 |
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| next ranking: April 4 | |||||
| Rank | School | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | 2011 FINAL |
| 1 | UW-La Crosse | 185.30 | WIAC | Josh Buchholtz (4th) | 2 |
| 2 | UW-Oshkosh | 185.12 | WIAC | Paul Brown (2nd) | 10 |
| 3 | McMurry | 165.63 | ASC | Barbara Crousen (14th) | 3 |
| 4 | North Central (Ill.) | 130.95 | CCIW | Frank Gramarosso (2nd) | 1 |
| 5 | UW-Whitewater | 101.98 | WIAC | Mike Johnson (3rd) | 19 |
| 6 | Calvin | 92.01 | MIAA | Bret Otte (3rd) | 14 |
| 7 | Augustana (Ill.) | 90.25 | CCIW | Paul Olsen (43rd) | 57 |
| 8 | La Verne | 89.01 | SCIAC | Pat Widolff (20th) | 5 |
| 9 | Central (Iowa) | 87.11 | IIAC | Joe Dunham (4th) | 7 |
| 10 | Whitworth | 74.88 | Northwest | Toby Schwarz (16th) | 21 |
| 11 | UW-Stout | 72.26 | WIAC | Laura Knudsen (4th) | 24 |
| 12 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 70.67 | Great Plains | Ted Bulling (27th) | 14 |
| 13 | Wabash | 65.97 | NCAC | Clyde Morgan (4th) | 20 |
| 14 | UW-Eau Claire | 60.63 | WIAC | Chip Schneider (10th) | 14 |
| 15 | Haverford | 58.52 | Centennial | Tom Donnelly (37th) | 33 |
| 16 | Occidental | 57.84 | SCIAC | Robert Bartlett (7th) | 40 |
| 17 | Williams | 49.62 | NESCAC | Fletcher Brooks (4th) | 75 |
| 18 | Heidelberg | 49.07 | OAC | Briana Hess (2nd) | 35 |
| 19 | Rowan | 48.83 | NJAC | Bill Fritz (18th) | 12 |
| 20 | Monmouth (Ill.) | 48.57 | Midwest | Roger Haynes (29th) | 12 |
| 21 | UW-Platteville | 47.93 | WIAC | Jim Nickasch (11th) | 40 |
| 22 | SUNY Cortland | 46.09 | SUNYAC | Steve Patrick (5th) | 35 |
| 23 | Guilford | 42.53 | ODAC | Danny Cash (2nd) | 24 |
| 24 | Baldwin-Wallace | 38.16 | OAC | Bill Taraschke (27th) | 21 |
| 25 | Carthage | 37.59 | CCIW | Brett Witt (7th) | 57 |
| Men’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | WIAC | 692.45 | 6 |
| 2 | CCIW | 279.07 | 3 |
| 3 | SCIAC | 250.79 | 2 |
| 4 | ASC | 210.09 | 1 |
| 5 | NESCAC | 195.40 | 1 |
| 6 | OAC | 189.31 | 2 |
| 7 | SUNYAC | 158.01 | 1 |
| 8 | IIAC | 132.15 | 1 |
| 9 | NCAC | 129.22 | 1 |
| 10 | UAA | 114.52 | |
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III |
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Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2012 Preseason — March 28 |
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| next ranking: April 4 | |||||
| Rank | School | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | 2011 FINAL |
| 1 | Wartburg | 251.47 | IIAC | Marcus Newsom (14th) | 2 |
| 2 | UW-Oshkosh | 172.66 | WIAC | Pat Ebel (3rd) | 1 |
| 3 | UW-Eau Claire | 143.68 | WIAC | Chip Schneider (6th) | 11 |
| 4 | MIT | 139.86 | NEWMAC | Halston Taylor (5th) | 4 |
| 5 | Williams | 122.91 | NESCAC | Fletcher Brooks (4th) | 5 |
| 6 | Methodist | 98.20 | USA South | Duane Ross (5th) | 3 |
| 7 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 75.37 | SCIAC | Kendra Reimer (2nd) | 60 |
| 8 | Texas Lutheran | 74.65 | ASC | Patrick Zarate (6th) | 36 |
| 9 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 71.27 | Great Plains | Ted Bulling (25th) | 9 |
| 10 | Ithaca | 67.01 | Empire 8 | Jennifer Potter (9th) | 6 |
| 11 | Central (Iowa) | 64.17 | IIAC | Joe Dunham (4th) | 17 |
| 12 | Illinois College | 63.73 | Midwest | Mike Brooks (11th) | 7 |
| 13 | Illinois Wesleyan | 60.29 | CCIW | Chris Schumacher (15th) | 30 |
| 14 | Middlebury | 57.18 | NESCAC | Martin Beatty (24th) | 12 |
| 15 | SUNY Geneseo | 56.90 | SUNYAC | Dave Prevosti (8th) | 28 |
| 16 | Washington (Mo.) | 54.68 | UAA | Jeff Stiles (11th) | 37 |
| 17 | Mount Union | 50.73 | OAC | Kevin Lucas (2nd) | 13 |
| 18 | Linfield | 49.22 | Northwest | Travis Olson (2nd) | 30 |
| 19 | Tufts | 47.06 | NESCAC | Kristen Morwick (12th) | 13 |
| 20 | George Fox | 46.55 | Northwest | John Smith (6th) | 19 |
| 21 | Willamette | 45.63 | Northwest | Matt McGuirk (8th) | 30 |
| 22 | Buffalo State | 42.21 | SUNYAC | Eugene Lewis (12th) | 13 |
| 23 | UW-La Crosse | 38.64 | WIAC | Pat Healy (21st) | 37 |
| 24 | Calvin | 38.36 | MIAA | Bret Otte (3rd) | 18 |
| 25 | Westfield State | 38.09 | MASCAC | Sean O’Brien (14th) | 65 |
| Women’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | WIAC | 470.80 | 3 |
| 2 | IIAC | 367.64 | 2 |
| 3 | NESCAC | 274.87 | 3 |
| 4 | NEWMAC | 246.63 | 1 |
| 5 | Northwest Conference | 172.35 | 3 |
| 6 | NJAC | 168.47 | |
| 7 | SCIAC | 157.52 | 1 |
| 8 | CCIW | 151.79 | 1 |
| 9 | UAA | 141.38 | 1 |
| 10 | OAC | 138.82 | 1 |
About the Rankings
For more on the national team rankings and links to guideline and rationale information visit …
/rankings/division-iii-rankings
Rankings are determined by a mathematical formula, which is based on current national descending order lists. This is what’s used to compile a team’s ranking. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national-title race.
The Regional Index is determined using a similar method as national rankings, but on a smaller scale, comparing teams versus others within the same region. The result is a ranking that showcases squads with better all-around team potential — a group makeup critical for conference or similar team-scored events. A team may achieve a better regional ranking than a counterpart that has a better national ranking. Historically, some teams are better national-championship teams than conference-championship teams, having a few elite athletes that score very well in a diverse environment where teams do not have entries in more than a few events. Some teams are better at conference championships or similar team-scored events where they enter, and are competitive, in many of the events.
How a team fares in a national championship, conference championship, or scored meet with only a couple or few teams (like a dual or triangular) can be very different, given the number of events, competition, scoring, and makeup of entries — thus the rationale behind each of the ranking systems. Similar arguments about team makeup and rankings can also be found in swimming & diving and wrestling as their sports also have a similar trichotomy when it comes to team theory.
