Week 2 Division III Indoor Rankings Stay Stable

NEW ORLEANS—The second set of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer rankings came out Tuesday, featuring remarkably few changes in the top ten for either gender. They were released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday afternoon.

For the second straight week, the men’s top seven was ranked in this order: No. 1 North Central (Ill.), No. 2 UW-Eau Claire, No. 3 UW-La Crosse, No. 4 UW-Whitewater, No. 5 Mount Union, No. 6 Central (Iowa), and No. 7 MIT.

The top women’s teams are similiarly calcified right now: No. 1 UW-La Crosse, No. 2 UW-Oshkosh, No. 3 MIT, No. 4 UW-Whitewater, No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan, No. 6 Wartburg, No. 7 Stevens Institute, and No. 8 Johns Hopkins came in at that order for the second straight week.

Both genders’ only top-ten switches were minor moves right at the bottom. The No. 8 Haverford men climbed two spots, and No. 10 Buffalo State moved up one. On the women’s side, No. 9 Baldwin Wallace and No. 10 Carleton flip-flopped places from a week ago.

There were four new top 25 teams this week.

NCAA Division III Computer Rankings 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 Computer Rankings

Two Pennsylvania teams from the same conference were the only two men’s teams to join the top 25. Nos. 23 and 25 Messiah and Widener–both no strangers to the national rankings–climbed into the top 25 on the basis of strong field event performances.

Messiah’s Tim Moses and Trevor Stutzman turned nationally elite marks in the vault and shot put, respectively, while Widener grabbed the majority of their ranking points from sprinter Gavin Colley and weight thrower
Tyler Williams.

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

No. 20 St. Lawrence and No. 25 Emory were the two new women’s teams. The Saints got most of their points from fast 3ks by Megan Kellogg and Cassia Hamline, while the Eagles made their move thanks to posting the nation’s second fastest 4×400.

The strength of the WIAC is particularly evident during track season. The Wisconsin state schools have six men’s and six women’s teams ranked in the top 25; no other conference has more than two top-25 teams for both genders, and only one conference (the SUNYAC men) has even three for either.

Three new teams took over the top spot in their respective regions: the SUNY Oneonta men in the Atlantic, the Christopher Newport men in the South/Southeast, and Mount Union women in the Great Lakes.

The Division III team rankings will be released every Tuesday (except for February 18, a Wednesday) between now and the beginning of the NCAA Championships on March 13.