2017 NCAA DIII Men’s Outdoor Team Rankings – Week 8

NOTE: Only USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for rankings. Please check your membership status HERE.

NEW ORLEANS – Rowan has found itself at the top – or near the top – of the NCAA Division III Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings throughout most of the 2017 season.

Well, there isn’t a better time for the Profs to be ranked No. 1 than right now.

Rowan is the top-ranked team in the Pre-Championship Rankings released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Profs leapfrogged previous No. 1 UW-La Crosse and are ranked No. 1 for the 3rd time this season.

What allowed Rowan to take over the top spot? Well, the Profs secured 15 entries to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend in Geneva, Ohio, and 12 of them are ranked among the top-10 nationally in their respective events. Rowan is going to hope for big performances from Anthony Salemo (No. 1, 400 hurdles) as well as Harrison Escoffery (No. 2, high jump) and Jeffrey Jon Tucker (No. 2, high jump; No. 4, long jump), among others, if it wishes to capture the team title.

UW-La Crosse won’t go quietly into the night, though. The Eagles have won the past two NCAA outdoor team titles and are looking to become the first team to win three in a row since they did so from 2002 to 2004. If UW-La Crosse accomplishes that feat, it would be outdoor title No. 15.

The Eagles have more of a chance than anyone to win the crown as they packed the entry lists. UW-La Crosse has an NCAA DIII-leading 18 entries to NCAAs, which span all disciplines. The most entries for the Eagles come in the guise of sprints and hurdles, where they’ll be hoping Ross Denman (2nd, 200; 2nd, 400) and Ernest Winters (3rd, 100) come through in a big way, just like they have their entire collegiate careers.

SUNY Cortland jumped two spots to No. 3 thanks to all eight of its NCAA entries being ranked in the top-10 nationally. The Red Dragons could get 18 points from Jack Flood (1st) and Connor Christopherson (2nd) in the decathlon as well as big points from Mitch Ryan (2nd, steeplechase) and Nick Vachon (2nd, high jump).

Seven of Tufts’ nine entries to NCAAs are in the top-10 and that’s a big reason why it climbed two spots from Week 7 to Week 8. The Jumbos are ranked No. 4 and athletes like Stefan Duvivier (1st, high jump) and Luke O’Connor (1st, steeplechase) can be thanked for that.

North Central (Ill.) is one of three teams with 11 entries to NCAAs (5th-ranked UW-Whitewater and 13th-ranked UW-Eau Claire are the others) and it needs a big showing from its distance squadron (6 entries) to capture the Triple Crown. The 7th-ranked Cardinals won the cross country crown and shared the indoor track & field title, so if they were to find a way to unseat six higher-ranked teams, they’d accomplish that feat.

Be sure to check back in later this week as we bring you an individual preview of the 2017 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which are this weekend in Geneva, Ohio.