Changes Dot NCAA D3 National Team Rankings

Note: This post was edited to include the most recent Dual Meet Power Rankings at the bottom.

NEW ORLEANS — An eventful weekend in NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field shook up the latest National Team Computer Rankings, released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

While every team in the men’s and women’s top-7 remained the same, four teams changed places in the men’s rankings.

Then in the women’s rankings, three teams sky rocketed into the top-10 for their highest billing in program history.

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-La Crosse UW-Eau Claire UW-Oshkosh Mount Union UW-Whitewater 167.34 pts 113.70 pts 108.01 pts 101.01 pts 94.11 pts View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll   NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) MIT Illinois-Wesleyan UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh Baldwin Wallace 167.46 pts 140.33 pts 134.21 pts 97.02 pts 83.17 pts View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

Disclaimer: Points in the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings are tabulated using a formula based on the USTFCCCA Individual Rankings as well as the National Descending Order Lists. Marks from the outdoor season aren’t included, nor are marks from incoming freshmen until they compete in a college meet.

The closer an athlete is to the top of his or her event rankings, the more points he or she earns toward the team total. Then those points are added together for the grand total.

It should be noted that the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings should not be referenced to as a “poll,” as no voting was conducted.

Men’s Breakdown

There were no changes to the top-3 as top-ranked UW-La Crosse (167.34 points), second-ranked UW-Eau Claire (113.70) and third-ranked UW-Oshkosh (108.01) maintained their spots from the past week.

Mount Union, a team that was No. 7 one week ago, is now No. 4 after adding 19.53 points to its tally. The Purple Raiders, out of the Ohio Athletic Conference, were aided by junior jumper Zack Wukotich (No. 3 in the high jump), senior pole vaulter Tyler Orewiler (No. 3 in the pole vault) and freshman Louis Berry (No. 9 in the 60).

UW-Whitewater moved up one spot to No. 5 following a big weekend from sophomore Robert Starnes. The jumper now stands at the top of the DIII leaderboard in the high jump after his clearance of 7.32m (24-0.25).

Tufts bounced back into the top-10 (No. 13 to No. 9) thanks to a brilliant run by senior Veer Bhalla. He clocked a 1:52.32 in the 800 this past weekend and is No. 2 in DIII in that event.

Elsewhere in the top-25, SUNY Cortland jumped from No. 25 to No. 19, freeing up the No. 25 spot for RPI to come in. The Engineers have put together a solid climb in the rankings, going from No. 63 in the preseason to No. 41 to No. 35 and now No. 25. This is RPI’s highest ranking in program history, besting its previous top billing in 2013 (27th).

Women’s Breakdown

From top-ranked MIT (167.46 points) to No. 7 Stevens (68.90 points), each of the top-7 women’s teams remained entrenched.

The biggest movement in the top-10 came from the three remaining teams as Williams (No. 8), Nebraska Wesleyan (No. 9) and SUNY Oneonta (No. 10) all took up residence among the best programs in the nation. For Nebraska Wesleyan and SUNY Oneonta, these are both of their highest rankings in program history.

The Ephs rise can be attribued to the weekend two of their milers had. Victoria Kingham and Laney Teaford moved into fourth and seventh on the DIII leaderboard as they both went sub-5 minutes this past weekend.

The Prairie Wolves jumped eight spots from last week behind several big marks, notably their 4×400 team that is now ranked fifth in DIII.

For the Red Dragons, senior Kaitlyn Kieser posted the fourth best leap in the long jump this season and added 16 points to their total.

Dual Meet Power Rankings

While the MIT men and the UW-La Crosse women own the top spots in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Dual Meet Power Rankings, they aren’t the clear-cut favorites.

In the men’s rankings, MIT has 175.16 points. Both UW-Whitewater (171.10) and Augustana College (169.87) sit fewer than six points behind the Engineers.

Over on the women’s side, the Eagles own a slim (read: 2.88-point) advantage over MIT. Ithaca College is a distant third (155.69).

Make sure to check out the full rankings and learn how the points were calculated.