Minimal Changes in First D3 ITF Rankings of February

NEW ORLEANS — For as much movement as there was in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Team Computer Rankings for NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field last week, this week stayed pretty subdued for the most part — all things considered.

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-La Crosse UW-Eau Claire UW-Oshkosh North Central (Ill.) St. Olaf 163.46 pts 117.78 pts 95.97 pts 93.67 pts 90.27 pts View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) MIT Illinois-Wesleyan UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh Baldwin Wallace 173.04 pts 134.05 pts 130.67 pts 93.41 pts 84.54 pts View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

The top-5 in the men’s and women’s rankings remains unchanged from the first week of the regular season. In fact, there is only one new addition to each ranking’s top-10.

In the men’s rankings, UW-La Crosse still leads the way and is followed by No. 2 UW-Eau Claire, No. 3 UW-Oshkosh, No. 4 North Central (Ill.) and No. 5 St. Olaf. Their respective point totals range from 163.46 to 117.78, 95.97, 93.67 and 90.27.

Over in the women’s rankings, MIT owns a sizable advantage with more than 39 points separating itself from No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan (134.05). UW-La Crosse (130.67) comes in at No. 3, followed by No. 4 UW-Oshkosh (93.41) and No. 5 Baldwin Wallace (85.54).

Points in the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings are tabulated using a formula based on the USTFCCCA Individual Rankings as well as the National Descending Order Lists. Marks from the outdoor season aren’t included, nor are marks from incoming freshmen until they compete in a college meet.

The closer an athlete is to the top of his or her event rankings, the more points he or she earns toward the team total. Then those points are added together for the grand total.

It should be noted that the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings should not be referenced to as a “poll,” as no voting was conducted.

Going back to the men’s rankings, the biggest gainers were UW-Whitewater, UW-Stevens Point and MIT.

The Warhawks were buoyed by sophomore Parker Witt‘s 200 this past weekend and jumped from No. 8 to No. 6. The Pointers saw senior Jordan Richard soar 7.21m (23-8) in the long jump to No. 2 on the National Descending Order List, which put them back into the top-10. The Engineers were outside of the top-25 one week ago but are now No. 18 after a string of solid performances at the John Thomas Terrier Invitational in Boston.

Then in the women’s rankings, UW-Eau Claire and St. Thomas (Minn.) hit an upward trajectory.

The Blugolds, who went from No. 11 to No. 6 after gaining 19.23 points, saw Sarah Glidden (penathlon) and JoHanna Theisen (shot put) stand out this past weekend. The Tommies went from No. 26 to No. 14 as senior Emily Gapinski put herself in the national conversation when it comes to the mile. Gapinski ran 4:57.93 at the Jack Johnson Classic and is the second woman under five minutes this season in NCAA Division III.

In all, there were five new additions to the top-25 rankings — Rowan men (No. 24), SUNY Cortland men (No. 25), the aforementioned women from St. Thomas (Minn.), the No. 27 Westminster (Pa.) women and the No. 24 Heidelberg women.

It should go without mention that the WIAC dominated both rankings once again. There were 11 total teams from the WIAC in this week’s rankings, seven more than the three conferences with four each (NESCAC, OAC and Empire 8).

The NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held March 11-12 on the campus of Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.