Final NJCAA ITF Rankings Shed Light On Championship Hunt

NEW ORLEANS — With just days to go until the 2017 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, not much has changed in the National Team Computer Rankings.

In the Pre-Championship Edition of the rankings, which were released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Iowa Central men and the New Mexico JC women are the favorites to walk away with the team titles come March 4 in Pittsburg, Kansas.

QUICK LINKS: Men’s Rankings | Women’s Rankings

The Tritons have been the top-ranked team in the men’s rankings all season long, while the Thunderbirds unseated Iowa Central’s women a few weeks ago.

Iowa Central has a strong chance to win another national title because of its depth. The Tritons have six top-ranked entries in the nation and 14 in the top-3. If you want to look at it from a top-10 perspective, Iowa Central’s number balloons to 28.

There shouldn’t be much of a question as to which teams follow the Tritons in the rankings as they all have the next largest numbers of top-10 entries. Second-ranked South Plains (Texas) comes in with 18 and is followed by Cloud County (Kan.)’s 16. Butler (Kan.) and Barton (Kan.) are tied with 14, while Coffeyville (Kan.) and Paradise Valley (Ariz.) are the only other teams with double-digit top-10 entries.

Looking at the women’s rankings, top-ranked New Mexico JC is one of three teams with more than 20 top-10 entries. The Thunderbirds actually don’t have the most, though – that belongs to the third-ranked Iowa Central women (23). New Mexico JC does have the most top-3 entries at 11, which easily dwarfs the next largest total (6). South Plains (Texas) is the other team with more than 20 top-10 entries (22).

Further down the Pre-Championship Edition, you’ll find No. 4 Barton (Kan.) CC, No. 5 Iowa Western CC, No. 6 Western Texas, No. 7 Monroe (N.Y.), No. 8 Vincennes (Ind.), No. 9 Central Arizona and No. 10 Mesa (Ariz.) CC.

Which of these teams will walk away with the national titles come March 4? We’ll find out soon enough as the 2017 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships get underway inside the Robert W. Plaster Center this weekend.