NCAA DIII Rankings Begin To Settle As Season Winds Down

NEW ORLEANS — The action is heating up in NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field.

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) North Central (Ill.) UW-La Crosse UW-Whitewater UW-Eau Claire UW-Platteville 156.55 pts 127.56 pts 112.55 pts 101.56 pts 93.74 pts View Complete Men’s National Team Computer Rankings   NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Washington (Mo.) UW-La Crosse Nebraska Wesleyan Claremont Mudd Scripps Illinois Wesleyan 145.85 pts 133.57 pts 130.47 pts 122.23 pts 112.12 pts View Complete Women’s National Team Computer Rankings

Two weeks ago many of the conferences held their championships and that shook up the National Team Computer Rankings when they came out last Tuesday.

Two days from now is the final day for athletes to try to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships held May 26-28 in Waverly, Iowa.

So what happened to the rankings in the meantime?

Well, in the latest installment released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), a majority of the top-10 teams in each set remained the same. Eleven of the 20 teams in both top-10s held strong, including the top-5 teams in the men’s rankings and three of the five in the women’s rankings.

The most movement in the top-10 happened in the women’s rankings where Washington (Mo.) and UW-La Crosse are still 1-2. Nebraska Wesleyan leapfrogged Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Baldwin Wallace jumped two spots from No. 8 to No. 6. The biggest mover into the top-10 was that of Rowan, as the Owls went from No. 15 last week to No. 9 this week.

Another team that shook up the women’s chart was Concordia Moorhead. One week after debuting in the top-25 at No. 21, the Cobbers moved up to No. 11 after Mikayla Forness (No. 2 javelin) and Olivia Johnson (No. 4 shot put) impressed.

Just like the women’s team, Rowan’s men worked its way inside the top-10. The Owls regained their footing at climbed three spots from No. 13 to No. 10.

MIT, Mount Union and RPI also jumped multiple spots this week. The Engineers went from No. 16 to No. 13, the Purple Raiders from No. 20 to No. 15 and the other Engineers surged from No. 33 to No. 19.

Including RPI, there were three new teams to the top-25s. The others were women’s teams from UMass Boston and Southern Maine.

Stay tuned for the pre-championship version of the National Team Computer Rankings when they are published next Monday.