UW-La Crosse Men, Wartburg Women No. 1 in Final DIII Rankings

NEW ORLEANS –  The UW-La Crosse men and the Wartburg women will enter this week’s NCAA Division III Championships — held in La Crosse, Wis., May 23-25 — as the favorites, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Team Rankings released Monday.

Accepted Entries: MEN | WOMEN
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Indoor champion UW-La Crosse has put itself in position to go for the 2013 track & field sweep as the computer favorite over in-state rivals No. 2 UW-Oshkosh and No. 3 UW-Eau Claire, while the defending outdoor champion Wartburg women will simultaneously try to protect their crown and keep No. 2 UW-Oshkosh from completing a 2013 sweep of its own.

The National Team Computer Rankings are a projection of how teams could fare at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. An explanation of the rankings system can be found here.

UW-La Crosse Men In Position for the 2013 Track & Field Sweep

With 23 total qualifiers and a computer score of 244.81 in the rankings, the indoor champion UW-La Crosse men are the best in Division III in both categories, but they lead in-state rival No. 2 UW-Oshkosh by slim margins on both accounts.

The Titans will send 22 qualifiers to the NCAA Championships and have a team score of 218.11. Both squads are nearly identical in terms of both the quantity and quality of their entries. La Crosse features 16 top-10 entries, including top-ranked Isaac Vazquez in the long jump (also No. 2 in the triple jump) and the top 4×100 squad; in contrast Oshkosh will not field any No. 1 seeds but will send 17 top-10 student-athletes to compete. The key to victory may very well come down to how well these student-athletes from both teams can stay true to or improve upon their rankings.

La Crosse boasts the largest contingency of jumpers at seven, sprinters and hurdlers with six and middle-distance runners with three; while Oshkosh’s strength comes in the throws with a division-best 12 entries.

No. 3 UW-Eau Claire is a distant third in terms of qualifiers with 13, but are within striking distance in the computer rankings at 178.03. Of the Bluegolds’ 13 entries, 10 are seeded in scoring position within the top eight, including Thurgood Dennis, who is ranked No. 1 at both 100 and 200 meters and is set to run a leg of the top 4×400 team.

UW-Whitewater checked in No. 4 with 10 entries and a team score of 121.66, followed closely by Whitworth at No. 5 with 12 entries and a 120.67 team score.

No. 7 North Central (Ill.)’s six distance runners are the most in the division.

Wartburg Women in Position to Defend Title

The Wartburg women do not have the strength in qualifiers numbers, but they still find themselves atop the final rankings with a team score of 164.94 and 17 entries into the Division III Championships later this week, in position to defend their title from a season ago.

Rival No. 2 UW-Oshkosh has given the Knights a run for their money in each of the past two seasons, finishing runner-up a season ago, winning the title in 2011 and finishing runner-up the two season prior — including to Wartburg in 2009. Heading into the championships this season the Titans are fewer than 40 points back in the rankings at 126.81 and will send 13 entries.

The Titans aren’t the only Wisconsin team pushing for a title, as No. 3 UW-La Crosse is set to field a division-best 19 entries at the championships.

The difference between the three teams comes down to top-10 nationally ranked student-athletes. No. 1 Wartburg features the most with 12, including top-ranked shot putter Kayla Hemann; No. 2 Oshkosh will send seven, headlined by Christy Cazzola, the division leader at both 800 and 1500, and entered at 5000, where she was the indoor champion; and No. 3 La Crosse with five. This also means that La Crosse has the most to gain if its student-athletes have career days that boost them in the rankings.

La Crosse’s 10 sprints and hurdles entries are the most in the division, while Oshkosh’s six throwers is tied for the division lead with No. 16 Tufts, and its four middle distance runners is the most in the division outright.

Sitting just behind La Crosse at No. 4 is Illinois College with a score of 99.46 and six entries — four of which are standout Melissa Norville. She is ranked No. 1 in both the long and triple jumps, No. 3 in the 100 hurdles and No. 15 at 200 meters.

The battle for fifth is as tight as the competition for the top spot, with Wheaton (Mass.) leading a pack of 13 teams within 25 points in the rankings.

Calvin boasts the largest number of distance qualifiers with four. SUNY Cortland, Ramapo and Washington (Mo.) each qualified four jumpers to lead the division.

Biggest Jump (Men): 11 – No. 24 Carthage
Biggest Jump (Women): 21 – No. 18 Illinois Wesleyan