Tight Races Emerge in Inaugural NJCAA DIII Outdoor T&F Rankings

NEW ORLEANS – Rowan-Gloucester’s defending champion men and 2013 champion women swept the No. 1 spots in the inaugural edition of the NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

But just because it was a sweep doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to be a runaway for either squad later this spring at the national championships May 7-9 in Utica, New York.

RCGC checked in just ahead of Montgomery-Rockville for both genders, based on results from this very young 2015 outdoor season, with recent champions lurking in both No. 3 spots.

The rankings are based on the concept that the higher an athlete is ranked on the national descending order list in his or her event, the more points he or she receives in the rankings formula. Team totals are the sum of all of their athletes’ scores in their events, and do not correlate with the team scoring system used at the NJCAA Championships. A full explanation of the process can be found here.

A full breakdown of the scoring by team can be found in the PDFs in the sidebar.

RCGC’s defending champion men checked in at 670.03, just ahead of Montgomery-Rockville at 665.22. In at No. 3 was 2011 and 2012 national champion Harper with 600.16, followed by SUNY Delhi with 590.03 at No. 4.

Rowan-Gloucester’s women came in with 499.76 points, narrowly ahead of Montgomery-Rockville at 490.60. Defending national champion SUNY Delhi checked in at No. 3 with 430.05, while 2014 national runner-up Suffolk County CC was No. 4 at 370.61.

That 60-point gulf between Delhi and Suffolk County is a far cry from the 2014 NJCAA DIII Championships, which Delhi claimed by just half a point, 136-135½.

Not to be deprived of a tight race in this particular edition of the rankings, 2011 champion Harper rounded out the top five – just a half-point behind Suffolk County.

At the regional level (which uses the exact system as the national rankings, but applied specifically to each of the three regions), the top teams for both genders were Harper in the Central Region, Rowan-Gloucester in the East, and SUNY Delhi in the Northeast.

Rankings will be released each Wednesday between now and the May 7-9 NJCAA Division III Championships in Utica, New York.