First Regular Season DIII Computer Rankings Released, Led By North Central Men and La Crosse Women

NEW ORLEANS—A new No. 1 men’s team is the biggest development in the first regular-season edition of the NCAA Division III National Team Computer Rankings.  North Central (Ill.) takes over the top spot in the men’s rankings—released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday—while the top women’s teams, led by No. 1 UW-La Crosse, stayed mostly static.

The North Central men moved up four spots on the strength of two event areas in which they’ve racked up dozens of national championships: distance running and pole vaulting. They have the nation’s top mark in the mile, 3000, 5000, and vault. 

Aron Sebhat leads the descending order list in both the mile and 3k, Travis Morrison leads a phalanx of Cardinal men atop the 5k list, and Luke Winder is the national leader in the pole vault. Overall, they have the four fastest 5k times in DIII and three of the top four 3k marks.

While the Cardinals have come out of the gate strong, with most of their points coming from 2015 marks, their rivals to the north have yet to throw down the gauntlet.   The three University of Wisconsin schools who occupy ranks Nos. 2-4 (Eau Claire, La Crosse, Whitewater) have combined for a total of 18.73 points from the current season.  Expect all three to show their cards significantly more over the next two weekends.

NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) North Central (Ill.) UW-Eau Claire UW-La Crosse UW-Whitewater Mount Union View Complete Men’s National Coaches Poll

Past North Central, there was some minor movement in the top five.  La Crosse went from No. 1 to No. 3, and Mount Union slipped two spots to No. 5.  The top five is still head and shoulders above the rest of the field; 54.67 points separate Nos. 1 and 5, while nearly that many points (40.46) separate Nos. 5 and 6.

Two teams entered the top 25: No. 16 Bridgewater State of Massachusetts (not to be confused with Bridgewater of Virginia) and No. 25 Ohio Wesleyan. 

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NCAA Division III National Coaches Poll Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 4) UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh MIT UW-Whitewater Illinois Wesleyan View Complete Women’s National Coaches Poll

The top six in the women’s computer rankings were changed.  Nos. 1-5 UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, MIT, UW-Whitewater, and Illinois Wesleyan all bolstered their standing—particularly MIT, who gained 20.67 points from their preseason ranking. Wartburg stayed at No. 6 despite slipping 3.29 points.

Stevens Institute climbed to No. 7; the Ducks were the only team in the top ten to move up.  The New Jersey school moved up thanks to a blazing fast 3k from Amy Regan.

No. 11 UW-Platteville moved up four spots on the basis of excellent marks in both horizontal jumps from sophomore Amber Williams. But the only team to join the top 25 and the biggest climber in the NCAA is No. 17 Lehman.  The Lightning moved up 65 spots from No. 82 after Adriana Wright posted nation-leading times in the 60 meters and the 60 meter hurdles.  Wright’s two marks came the same night in the Gotham Cup at the Armory.

If you’re a coach or an athlete and you notice that your team is marked in red, that means that your program is currently not a member of the USTFCCCA.  Starting next week, non-member schools will not be ranked.

The Division III computer rankings will be released every Tuesday (with the exception of Wednesday, February 18 and Monday, March 9) between now and the NCAA championships, which start on March 13.