North Central, WashU Own Top Spots Ahead Of NCAA DIII Championships

NEW ORLEANS — As it stands right now, three days before the start of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the North Central (Ill.) men and the Washington (Mo.) women are the favorites to walk out of Waverly, Iowa as the 2016 team champions.

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) North Central (Ill.) UW-La Crosse UW-Eau Claire UW-Platteville Monmouth (Ill.) 142.30 pts 125.35 pts 107.83 pts 98.23 pts 94.87 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 Illinois Wesleyan Claremont Mudd Scripps 152.86 pts 135.95 pts 113.60 pts 111.07 pts 103.01 pts View Complete Women’s National Team Computer Rankings

The Cardinals and Bears sat atop the pre-championship edition of the National Team Computer Rankings that were released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

This is the first time since the start of the rankings in 2010 that North Central (Ill.) and WashU were ranked No. 1 at this stage of the season.

For the Cardinal men to hold off second-ranked UW-La Crosse, they’ll need a strong effort. The Eagles enter the championship meet with the most entries of any men’s team with 15 (five sprints/hurdles, three throws, two in mid-distance, distance and relays and one in the combined events). North Central (Ill.), on the other hand, brings the second most scoring chances with 12 and a majority of them come in the longer distances (eight total in distance/mid-distance).

Sitting behind the Cardinals and Eagles is third-ranked UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds have just nine entries this weekend and are aiming to win the vaulted Triple Crown (team titles in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field in the same academic year).

UW-Platteville moved up one spot to No. 4, while Monmouth (Ill.) jumped four spots from No. 9 to No. 5 to round out the top-5 in the men’s rankings.

UW-Oshkosh is the only men’s team other than North Central (Ill.) or UW-La Crosse to have 10 or more entries into the meet. The Titans are ranked eighth this week.

Over in the women’s rankings, the Bears own a sizeable advantage over the field despite being tied for the fourth most entries. Here are the entries by team: UW-La Crosse (16), Illinois Wesleyan (15), Nebraska Wesleyan (13), WashU (11), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (11), Baldwin Wallace (11) and UW-Oshkosh (11).

Based on those numbers, there should be no doubt that the Eagles are ranked pretty high. Such is the case, as UW-La Crosse sits right behind the Bears in the No. 2 position.

Not much changed from last week’s top-5 as Nebraska Wesleyan is third, followed by Illinois Wesleyan (up to No. 4 from No. 5) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

There were three big movers in the women’s rankings from the previous week as Ithaca, Stevens and Concordia Moorhead all moved into the top-10. Ithaca jumped from No. 17 to No. 8, while the Ducks went from No. 13 to No. 9 and CMU shifted up from No. 11.

If you’re wondering about total number of entries per conference, the WIAC takes the cake and it’s not even close. The WIAC owns 61 entries in the men’s meet and 53 more in the women’s. The CCIW has the second most entries at 32 and 36, respectively.

The 2016 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships start May 26 and run through May 28. Wartburg College is the host of the championship meet.