New Men’s and Women’s No. 1s Take Over on Precipice of DIII Indoor Nationals

NEW ORLEANS – Explosive last chance action shifted the balance of power in Division III this week. The final set of rankings, released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) saw two new No. 1 teams. UW-Eau Claire took over as the No. 1 men’s team, and UW-La Crosse is the new No. 1 women’s team.

Both teams made their jump thanks to performances at UW-Stevens Point’s loaded Pointer Qualifier. Eau Claire had three DIII-leading performances at UWSP: Thurgood Dennis in the 60, Cody Prince in the 400, and Roger Steen in the shot put. Dennis, Prince, Jimmy Paske, and William LaJeunesse ran the nation’s second fastest 4×400 there as well.

La Crosse recaptured its national lead in the 4×400, and sprinter Meg Heafy held onto a top ten spot in the 60 meters with a season best.

The rest of the men’s top five saw a minor shakeup: No. 2 La Crosse and No. 3 Mount Union each moved down one spot, while No. 4 North Central (Ill.) stayed stagnant and No. 5 UW-Oshkosh joined the top five for the first time since last year.

La Crosse’s men have won the last two titles and were ranked No. 1 fourteen of the last nineteen weeks. Their quest to repeat will come down to which stars on the top teams come through and are backed up by a little bit of depth. Each of the top four men’s teams has at least one athlete with a nation-leading mark in his event.

For Eau Claire, it’s the three men listed above; La Crosse has versatile jumper Dominique Neloms, the national leader in the high jump and long jump; Mount Union has weight throw national leader and multiple-time national champion Sean Donnelly, and North Central has pole vault scion Jake Winder.

The meet could be decided by the relays. All three WIAC teams have both relays–the 4×4 and DMR–qualified. North Central has a DMR in the meet, and Mount Union has a 4×4.

If it’s decided before the quarter milers team up, it could be because they sealed the deal individually. Each of the top three teams has sprinters in the 200 and 400.

Whether or not Mount Union pulls off the upset, they’ll be the brawniest team contending. The Purple Raiders are the only top ten team without at least one distance qualifier. (North Central is the only top seven team without a sprinter at the meet.)

Behind the UW-Lax, the women’s top five saw similar reshuffling. Oshkosh moved up to No. 2; spots 3-5 were filled by a static Illinois Wesleyan, falling MIT, and rising Johns Hopkins, in that order.

NCAA Division III Computer Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-Eau Claire UW-La Crosse Mount Union North Central (Ill.) UW-Oshkosh View Complete Men’s Computer Rankings   NCAA Division III Computer Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh Illinois Wesleyan MIT Johns Hopkins View Complete Women’s Computer Rankings

Oshkosh is the two-time defending champ and have won six of the last eleven titles. The only title out of the six disciplines (i.e. men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and cross country) that La Crosse is missing is a women’s indoor title. If it comes down to an Eagles-Titans battle, the 200 will be huge: the two schools have three of the top six women qualified in the event.

Each of the top three schools in the rankings has an athlete qualified in the pentathlon.

One more battleground: the 60 meter hurdles. Roughly a third of the field (five out of seventeen women) hails from either Oshkosh or La Crosse. With the sprints so vitally important, the contours of the team battle will be established after Friday night’s prelims.

If there’s going to be an upset, MIT’s distance women could lead the way. None of the top three teams have any runners ranked in the top eight in any event longer than 400 meters–though Oshkosh’s Kylee Verhasselt is the defending indoor national champion in the 800.

MIT has 2015’s best athletes in the mile, 3k, DMR, and pole vault, which is nearly a carbon copy of the roster that North Central’s men have entered.

With the door closed on the regular season, programs from across the country can claim mytho-statistical regional titles. Men’s programs finishing the season ranked No. 1 in their respective regions are SUNY Oneonta in the Atlantic, Central (Iowa) in the Central, Mount Union in the Great Lakes, Widener in the Mideast, UW-La Crosse in the Midwest, MIT in New England, Christopher Newport in the South/Southeast, and George Fox in the West. Women’s programs leading their regions are St. Lawrence in the Atlantic, St. Thomas (Minn.) in the Central, Mount Union in the Great Lakes, Johns Hopkins in the Mideast, UW-La Crosse in the Midwest, MIT in New England, Christopher Newport in the South/Southeast, and George Fox in the West.

The NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships begin Friday, March 13 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.