Minimal Changes In NAIA National Team Rankings As Championships Near
NEW ORLEANS — As the NAIA Indoor Track & Field season progressed, there haven’t been many changes to the National Team Computer Rankings, as published by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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In the most recent rankings, which came out Wednesday, the Indiana Tech men and women are still the favorites to win their respective gender’s national championships come March 3-5. That’s when the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held in Johnson City, Tennessee.
QUICK LINKS: Men’s Rankings | Women’s Rankings
While the lead for the Warrior men over runner-up Doane (Neb.) has been substantial throughout the entire season (up 221 points at the moment), the women have seen their edge over the Doane (Neb.) women dwindle. Right now the Indiana Tech women are up 66 points, compared to 75.85 in Week 2 and 123.53 in Week 1.
Points in the National Team Computer Rankings are based on placement in the descending order lists. The higher an athlete is on the list, the more points he or she provides his or her team. These points are by no means an absolute predictor of success at the championship level, but give an idea of how a team might fare.
The biggest changes in the rankings came in the middle of the top-10 in the men’s list and the end of the top-10 in the women’s.
In the men’s ranking, Marian (Ind.) went from No. 13 to No. 6. It was the performance of two relay teams (4×400, DMR) and an 800-meter runner (Presley Martin) this past weekend that aided the team’s rise.
Jumping genders, the College of Idaho women went from No. 13 to No. 9 and the Biola (Calif.) women climbed from No. 17 to No. 11. Both teams rely heavily upon distance runners: The former has Amy Pfaff, Lila Klopfenstein and Ruth Lewinski, while the latter sees Anika Gasner and Lyndee Dawson lead the way.
Other big gainers in the men’s ranking include St. Francis (Ill.), soaring from No. 28 to No. 14, MidAmerica Nazarene (No. 31 to No. 22) and Aquinas (Mich.), jumping from No. 41 to No. 24.
The team that made the largest move in the women’s ranking was that of Marymount California (No. 41 to No. 25).
USTFCCCA NAIA |
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Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2016 Week #4 — February 17 |
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| next ranking: February 24 | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Indiana Tech | 479.07 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Doug Edgar (7th) | 1 |
| 2 | Doane (Neb.) | 258.62 | Great Plains | Ed Fye (14th) | 2 |
| 3 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 244.76 | Sooner Athletic | Brian Whitlock (1st) | 4 |
| 4 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 218.93 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Tim Bauer (32nd) | 3 |
| 5 | Concordia (Neb.) | 217.27 | Great Plains | Kregg Einspahr (24th) | 5 |
| 6 | Marian (Ind.) | 133.87 | Crossroads | Mike Holman (4th) | 13 |
| 7 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 126.11 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Rod Wortley (18th) | 7 |
| 8 | Friends (Kan.) | 115.76 | Kansas Collegiate | Damian Smithhisler (4th) | 6 |
| 9 | Oklahoma City | 115.69 | Sooner Athletic | Conor Holt (5th) | 10 |
| 10 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 109.42 | Great Plains | Nate Treinen (9th) | 8 |
| 11 | Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | 107.62 | Chicagoland | Joel Pearson (2nd) | 12 |
| 12 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 100.97 | Chicagoland | Michael McDowell (15th) | 11 |
| 13 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 100.08 | Great Plains | Scott Bahrke (4th) | 14 |
| 14 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 80.42 | Chicagoland | Jeff Barker (4th) | 28 |
| 15 | Eastern Oregon | 78.56 | Cascade | Ben Welch (12th) | 22 |
| 16 | Graceland (Iowa) | 78.38 | Heart of America | Reece Vega (3rd) | 18 |
| 17 | Bethel (Ind.) | 74.42 | Crossroads | Tony Natali (18th) | 9 |
| 18 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 71.26 | Mid-South | Jamaine Gordon (3rd) | 16 |
| 19 | Dordt (Iowa) | 68.42 | Great Plains | Craig Heynen (8th) | 20 |
| 20 | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 60.91 | Chicagoland | Dan Tomlin (9th) | 19 |
| 21 | Hastings (Neb.) | 58.86 | Great Plains | Ryan Mahoney (3rd) | 21 |
| 22 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 58.49 | Heart of America | Nate Wiens (1st) | 31 |
| 23 | Saint Mary (Kan.) | 57.96 | Kansas Collegiate | Josh Webb (1st) | 15 |
| 24 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 54.68 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Dave Wood (20th) | 41 |
| 25 | Indiana Wesleyan | 52.76 | Crossroads | John Foss (29th) | 17 |
| Dropped out: No. 23 McPherson (Kan.), No. 24 Carroll (Mont.), No. 25 Evergreen State (Wash.) | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
| Men’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | Wolverine-Hoosier | 904.01 | 4 |
| 2 | Great Plains | 890.95 | 6 |
| 3 | Sooner Athletic | 415.10 | 2 |
| 4 | Chicagoland | 381.13 | 4 |
| 5 | Crossroads | 361.05 | 3 |
| 6 | Heart of America | 325.45 | 2 |
| 7 | Kansas Collegiate | 230.99 | 2 |
| 8 | Cascade | 229.94 | 1 |
| 9 | Frontier | 111.71 | |
| 10 | Golden State | 104.78 | |
| Men’s Regional Index Leaders | |||
| Region | Institution | Points | Last Week |
| Great Lakes | Indiana Tech | 869.35 | 1 |
| Midwest | Doane (Neb.) | 635.66 | 1 |
| South | William Carey (Miss.) | 355.43 | 1 |
| South Central | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 502.92 | 2 |
| West | Eastern Oregon | 581.59 | 1 |
| View All Regional Rankings | |||
USTFCCCA NAIA |
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Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25) |
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2016 Week #4 — February 17 |
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| next ranking: February 24 | |||||
| Rank | Institution | Points | Conference | Head Coach (Yr) | Last Week |
| 1 | Indiana Tech | 395.08 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Doug Edgar (7th) | 1 |
| 2 | Doane (Neb.) | 329.73 | Great Plains | Ed Fye (14th) | 2 |
| 3 | Siena Heights (Mich.) | 275.56 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Kirk Richards (4th) | 3 |
| 4 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 266.21 | Sooner Athletic | Brian Whitlock (1st) | 4 |
| 5 | Concordia (Neb.) | 220.00 | Great Plains | Kregg Einspahr (24th) | 5 |
| 6 | Southern-New Orleans (La.) | 173.93 | Gulf Coast | Yhann Plummer (3rd) | 6 |
| 7 | Carroll (Mont.) | 159.90 | Frontier | Harry Clark (3rd) | 8 |
| 8 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 153.42 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Dave Wood (20th) | 7 |
| 9 | College of Idaho | 141.18 | Cascade | Pat McCurry (12th) | 13 |
| 10 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 109.41 | Chicagoland | Jeff Barker (4th) | 10 |
| 11 | Biola (Calif.) | 102.33 | Golden State | Jonathan Zimmerman (10th) | 17 |
| 12 | Friends (Kan.) | 102.14 | Kansas Collegiate | Cole Davis (5th) | 9 |
| 13 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 94.46 | Chicagoland | Michael McDowell (15th) | 14 |
| 14 | Dordt (Iowa) | 93.71 | Great Plains | Craig Heynen (8th) | 15 |
| 15 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 90.03 | Heart of America | Henry Brun (1st) | 11 |
| 16 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 89.82 | Wolverine-Hoosier | Rod Wortley (18th) | 12 |
| 17 | Hastings (Neb.) | 79.76 | Great Plains | Ryan Mahoney (3rd) | 16 |
| 18 | Marian (Ind.) | 69.33 | Crossroads | Mike Holman (4th) | 23 |
| 19 | Missouri Baptist | 67.90 | American Midwest | Patricia Hanna (6th) | 18 |
| 20 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 62.39 | Great Plains | Scott Bahrke (4th) | 19 |
| 21 | Eastern Oregon | 62.14 | Cascade | Ben Welch (12th) | 21 |
| 22 | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | 56.36 | Chicagoland | Dan Tomlin (9th) | 28 |
| 23 | Westmont (Calif.) | 56.14 | Golden State | Russell Smelley (37th) | 29 |
| 24 | Milligan (Tenn.) | 53.73 | Appalachian | Chris Layne (12th) | 22 |
| 25 | Marymount California | 53.00 | Cal Pac | Carlos Suarez (1st) | 41 |
| Dropped out: No. 20 Taylor (Ind.), No. 24 Morningside (Iowa), No. 25 Oklahoma City | |||||
| View All Teams Beyond the Top 25 | |||||
| Women’s Conference Index Top 10 | |||
| Rank | Conference | Points | Top 25 Teams |
| 1 | Wolverine-Hoosier | 934.74 | 4 |
| 2 | Great Plains | 904.56 | 5 |
| 3 | Sooner Athletic | 320.29 | 1 |
| 4 | Chicagoland | 289.97 | 3 |
| 5 | Crossroads | 266.07 | 1 |
| 6 | Heart of America | 263.59 | 1 |
| 7 | Cascade | 220.11 | 2 |
| 8 | Frontier | 207.24 | 1 |
| 9 | Kansas Collegiate | 187.75 | 1 |
| 10 | Golden State | 178.81 | 2 |
| Women’s Regional Index Leaders | |||
| Region | Institution | Points | Last Week |
| Great Lakes | Indiana Tech | 874.68 | 1 |
| Midwest | Doane (Neb.) | 845.38 | 1 |
| South | Webber International (Fla.) | 368.98 | 2 |
| South Central | Friends (Kan.) | 541.95 | 1 |
| West | Carroll (Mont.) | 781.13 | 1 |
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| View All Regional Rankings | |||
