Final Pre-Championships National DIII Team Rankings Predict A Close Women’s Battle

NEW ORLEANS – Based on the entries to the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships released Monday, morning, UW-La Crosse remained the pre-meet favorites in both the men’s and women’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Team Computer Rankings released Tuesday.

Women’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse 173.24 pts 13 entries	UW-Oshkosh 159.35 pts 12 entries	Wartburg 157.15 pts 12 entries	UW-Whitewater 109.60 pts 8 entries	Wheaton (Mass.) 94.24 pts 5 entries
View Complete Women’s Rankings

While the defending national team champion UW-La Crosse men enjoy a comfortable cushion in the rankings heading into the meet this weekend at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb., from March 14-15, the same can’t be said of their female teammates.

The Eagle women’s team rankings score dropped by 10 points to 173.24, just 14 points ahead of defending indoor champion No. 2 UW-Oshkosh (159.35) and 16 points ahead of preseason favorite and defending outdoor champion No. 3 Wartburg (157.15).

The gap between No. 1 and No. 2 ahead of NCAAs is the smallest since the Division III USTFCCCA Rankings began in 2010, as is the spread between No. 1 and No. 3.

La Crosse’s women will arrive in Lincoln with a nation-best 13 total entries, just one better than the 12 that qualified from both UW-Oshkosh and Wartburg.

Recent history is on the side of the Eagles, however, as each of the four women’s teams since the beginning of the USTFCCCA Rankings in 2010 that ended the regular season at No. 1 also went on to win the national team title. Both UW-Oshkosh (2011, 2013) and Wartburg (2010, 2012) have accomplished that feat.

Both up two positions, No. 4 UW-Whitewater (109.60) and No. 5 Wheaton (Mass.) (94.24) rounded out the top five.

The UW-La Crosse men, on the other hand, are the most heavily favored top-ranked team since the DIII rankings began. At 231.72 team rankings points, they outdistanced No. 2 UW-Eau Claire (156.83) by nearly 75 points.

Men’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse 231.72 pts 20 entries	UW-Eau Claire 156.83 pts 11 entries	UW-Whitewater 139.12 pts 11 entries	UW-Oshkosh 115.56 pts 13 entries	North Central (Ill.) 101.99 pts 11 entries
View Complete Men’s Rankings

The previous high mark was North Central (Ill.)’s 52-point margin before winning the 2011 team title.

That significant advantage is a direct correlation to the Eagles’ bevy of 20 entries into the meet, compared to the next highest: No. 4 UW-Oshkosh’s 13.

The three other top-five teams in UW-Eau Claire, No. 3 UW-Whitewater (139.12) and No. 5 North Central (101.99) all have 11 entries.

Recent history is ambivalent toward UW-La Crosse’s men. Three of the four top-ranked teams since the rankings began went on to win titles. The one that didn’t? UW-La Crosse in 2012, when it finished fifth as North Central claimed its second of three consecutive indoor crowns.

The national team rankings will be complied by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race. Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. A full description of the rankings can be found here.

The USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings should not be referred to as a “poll” as no voting occurs during the process.