UW-La Crosse Men & Women Begin 2014 Division III Outdoor T&F Season at No. 1

NEW ORLEANS – Both the UW-La Crosse men and women will start their 2014 outdoor track & field campaigns at No. 1 in the preseason U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Team Computer Rankings released Wednesday.

Using a combination of data from the current 2014 outdoor season (not the indoor season) and the top 2013 marks by returning student-athletes, the UWL men are projected as heavy favorites to defend their national outdoor title over in-state rival UW-Eau Claire, while the computers see little difference between the UWL women and two-time defending national outdoor team champion Wartburg.

Women’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse 172.46 pts 2013: 5th	Wartburg 171.95 pts 2013: 1st	Rowan 127.86 pts 2013: 11th	UW-Oshkosh 119.69 pts 2013: 2nd	Johns Hopkins 103.31 pts 2013: 13th
View Complete Women’s Rankings

After a fifth-place finish a year ago, the Eagles women (172.46 team rankings points) were boosted to the No. 1 position behind 10 performers ranked within the top 10 of their respective events.

Among them are the top-ranked 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams and Jaime Ludwigson in the top five both at 100 (No. 5) and 200 meters (No. 4).

Top-ranked shot putter Kayla Hemann and steepler Sammi Bruett lifted the reigning champion Wartburg women to No. 2 with 171.95 team rankings points – little more than a half point behind UWL.

A successful title defense by the Knights would make them the third women’s team in DIII history to win three consecutive outdoor national titles, and the first since Wheaton (Mass.) from 2001-03. UW-Oshkosh (1995-97) and Christopher Newport (1987-89) also accomplished the feat.

History is on Wartburg’s side as three of the past four preseason No. 1s have proceeded to finish the season at No. 1, including the Knights in each of the past two seasons. The one team that didn’t? Also Wartburg in 2011, when it finished runner-up.

Rowan (127.86) came in at No. 3, followed by two-time defending indoor champion No. 4 UW-Oshkosh (119.69) and No. 5 Johns Hopkins (103.31), the two-time defending cross country champions from the fall.

Men’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse 232.34 pts 2013: 1st	UW-Eau Claire 150.23 pts 2013: 2nd	UW-Oshkosh 143.67 pts 2013: 3rd	UW-Whitewater 127.12 pts 2013: 4th	Whitworth 90.57 pts 2013: 10th
View Complete Men’s Rankings

With 13 competitors ranked among the top 10 in their events – including top-ranked Bryan Klister (pole vault) and the No. 1 4×100 relay – the UW-La Crosse men (232.34 team rankings points) are heavy favorites over the rest of the field.

As both the preseason favorite and the recent indoor champion, recent history as it relates to UW-La Crosse is a mixed bag. The good news for the Eagles is that three of the past four indoor team champions have gone on to complete the sweep with a matching outdoor title.

The bad news? None of them have done it as the outdoor preseason (or week one) favorite since the beginning of the USTFCCCA rankings in 2010. The last time UWL was the preseason No. 1 in 2012 it finished runner-up.

Next up is No. 2 UW-Eau Claire (150.23) behind Thurgood Dennis as the top-ranked man at 100 and 200 meters, the No. 2  man at 400 meters, and a potential member of the top-ranked 4×400 relay.

No. 3 UW-Oshkosh (143.67), No. 4 UW-Whitewater (127.12) and No. 5 Whitworth (90.57) rounded out the top five.

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.