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

NEW ORLEANS – The UW-La Crosse men and Wartburg women are back atop the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Team Computer Rankings after a week’s absence, with both caught up in close races for No. 1.

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With just a handful of last chance meets remaining on the DIII regular season schedule, just three-and-a-half points separate the UW-La Crosse men from in-state rival No. 3 UW-Eau Claire after a huge weekend, and fewer than two points stand between the Eagles and No. 2 UW-Oshkosh.

The women’s competition for No. 1 isn’t quite as tight, but Wartburg has anything but a comfortable advantage over No. 2 UW-La Crosse and No. 3 Illinois College. The defending DIII champion Knights lead the Eagles in the rankings by single digits.

The National Team Computer Rankings are a projection of how teams could fare at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held May 23-25 in La Crosse, Wis. An explanation of the rankings system can be found here.

UW-La Crosse Men Reclaim No. 1 Ranking

The UW-La Crosse men turned in a trio of top-10 performances to hold steady enough in the rankings (0.43 net gain to 202.14 team score) to keep ahead of UW-Oshkosh after the Titans slid to a team score of 200.25 following an 18.11 net loss. Sprinter Alex Koenen moved to No. 5 at 100 meters (10.59, +0.9m/s), hammer thrower John Cooper improved to No. 6 (192-5/58.65m) and the 4×400 relay turned in the fifth-fastest qualifying time at 3:12.46.

But it was in-state rival No. 3 UW-Eau Claire who had the biggest weekend, gaining a whopping 52.69 net points to 198.66 — just three-and-a-half points behind UW-La Crosse. Sprinter Thurgood Dennis, who already held the division’s best 100 and 200 qualifying times, posted the second-fastest time at 400 meters with a 47.10 to provide a big boost in the rankings. Distance runner Jeremy Kieser improved to No. 6 in the 3000 steeplechase by running 9:04.61, while shot putter Roger Steen moved to No. 9 with a mark of 56-1¼ (17.10m).

The removal of preseason decathlon marks resulted in Bart Mestelle and Brandon Zarnoth moving to No. 3 and 4, respectively.

Whitworth remained at No. 4 (+5.2 net points to 127.20) and UW-Whitewater stayed steady at No. 5 (+7.22, 118.45).

Wartburg Women Back In Control of DIII Rankings

After falling from the No. 1 spot last week for the first time since the end of the 2011 season, the defending champion Wartburg women are back on top thanks to a team championship performance at the IIAC meet. The Knights checked in with a team score of 131.70 after a weekend net gain of 13.16 points, while No. 2 UW-La Crosse slipped back to 124.05 team points following a 4.44 net loss.

Wartburg’s reclamation of the top rank was due in large part to the IIAC Most Valuable Field Athlete effort of thrower Kayla Hemann. The sophomore posted the top shot put mark in the division at 48-9½ (14.87m) and the No. 6 discus mark of 148-1 (45.14m). Teammate Britlyn Sieck was also key with moves to No. 4 in the disc (149-1/45.45m) and No. 5 in the shot (47-1¾/14.37m).

Though Illinois College finished runner-up at the Midwest Conference Championships, the squad moved stayed at No. 3 in the national rankings, even getting a 4.39 net point boost with heptathlete Megan Stringer moving from No. 8 to No. 5 with the removal of preseason combined events data from the rankings.

Indoor champion UW-Oshkosh moved up one spot to No. 4 (-1.45 net points, 88.88 team score), while Buffalo State jumped up three spots to round out the top five with a modest 1.99 net gain for a team score of 84.90 — a testament to just how tight the race in the top 10 has grown.

Biggest Jump (Men): 26 – No. 25 MIT
Biggest Jump (Women): 19 – No. 8 UW-Eau Claire