Men’s Race For Top Spot in DIII Tightening, Wartburg Women Remain No. 1

NEW ORLEANS –  The field is gaining on the top-ranked North Central (Ill.) men in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Team Computer Rankings released Wednesday, while the Wartburg women maintained a comfortable lead at No. 1.

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Fewer than 20 points separate No. 1 North Central’s 170.95 team points from indoor champion No. 4 UW-La Crosse with 154.38, setting the stage for a tight championship race. The Wartburg women, on the other hand, have a nearly 80 point lead on indoor champ No. 2 UW-Oshkosh.

Preseason computer rankings are compiled using performance data from both the current 2013 outdoor season and the 2012 season. Past-season data will be used in conjunction with current data through the early part of the season in calculating team scores. The scoring system is explained in more detail here.

North Central (Ill.)’s Grasp on No. 1 Loosens

The race for the No. 1 spot in the men’s rankings is heating up, with North Central losing 12.5 net points for a total of 170.95, opening up a fray for the top spot as the next six teams in the rankings all improved.

UW-Oshkosh moved within five points following a 3.14 point net gain to 166.34. The Titans’ boost came behind senior Lukey Klitz moving to No. 5 in the triple jump event rankings — which until week four will include the top 2012 marks of returning student-athletes — with a mark of 49-5 (15.06m) and senior Lewis Prior improving to No. 10 in the discus event rankings at 171.8 (52.34m).

Also making a move toward the top was No. 3 UW-Whitewater, which made a 4.48 net point improvement to 154.41. Sophomore Justin Bowers went from unranked to No. 11 in the long jump event rankings with a mark of 23-9 (7.24m) to drive UW-Whitewater in the rankings.

Indoor champion UW-La Crosse added 5.09 net points to reach 154.38 behind a pair of top-15 1500 performances from No. 7 senior David Stilin (3:50.94) and No. 15 junior Tyler Heinz (3:52.04). Whitworth rounded out the top five behind National Athlete of the Week senior Carter Comito moving up a spot to No. 2 in the shot put event rankings (58-6¾/17.85m) and junior hammer thrower improving to No. 5 (195-7/59.61m).

Wartburg Women Remain Comfortable No. 1

The defending champion Wartburg women made slight gains in the rankings, adding 1.18 net points for a total of 225.08. Sophomore Kayla Hemann’s improvement to No. 12 in the shot put event rankings — which will for one more week include the top 2012 marks of returning student-athletes — with a mark of 44-1½ (13.45m) was the biggest point-earner for the Knights on the weekend.

Indoor champion No. 2 UW-Oshkosh dropped 1.49 net points to 146.53 after not recording any marks that improved upon their 2013 or 2012 best marks in the event rankings. Like UW-Oshkosh, No. 3 Williams did not record any improvement in their scored marks, resulting in a 4.29 net point drop to 102.63.

A pair of Illinois schools traded places to round out the top five, with Illinois Wesleyan (97.83 team points) moving up 1.05 net points to No. 4, while Illinois College dropped 0.4 net points and a spot to No. 5 with 97.07 team points.

Biggest Jump (Men): 5 – Tufts
Biggest Jump (Women): 14 – Lehman