2020 NAIA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 6
We have applied a correction to national TFRI, effective Monday, March 2 at 8 p.m., Central. Several national-championship participants were missing from the first version.
NEW ORLEANS – Ready or not, the 2020 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships are set for this weekend at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota.
With that known, it’s time to check out the final installment of the NAIA Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index that features a closer battle for the national title than each of the previous iterations would lead you to believe. That’s because this ranking is calculated only using marks from athletes accepted into the national championship meet.
NAIA — Men's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Indiana Tech
Indiana Tech
2
William Carey (Miss.)
William Carey (Miss.)
3
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
4
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
5
Doane (Neb.)
Doane (Neb.)
All TFRI Reports
Indiana Tech is still favored to win its sixth national title in the past seven years and tie Jackson State (Miss.) for the third most crowns in division history, but William Carey (Miss.) is expected to make a hard charge at the top spot as well.
The top-ranked Warriors are hoping to win the title based on sheer brute strength. Indiana Tech has 28 entries into the national championship meet spread across 13 different events. You’ll see a host of Warriors in the sprints, where they have five entered in the 200 and three each entered in the 60 and 400, including the national leader in the 60.
The Crusaders bring 20 entries with them to South Dakota in search of their first national title in program history, including 12 that were ranked in the top-5 of the year-end Descending Order List. Malik Crandle and Ineh Emmanuel are No. 1 and No. 2 in the triple jump, respectively, while Dante Brown and Diamantae Griffin are ranked in the top-5 of both the 60 and 200.
Wayland Baptist (Texas) hopes to return to the top of the podium for the first time since 2018. The Pioneers have 13 entries into the national championship meet, including national-leading marks in the 600 (Reggie Mouton) and the 4×400 relay.
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) has an impressive assortment of entries with them sifted across just about each and every event discipline. The Tigers have 13 entries in 10 different events, ranging from the 200 to the weight throw. National leaders John Munyan (800), Wesley Meyer (mile, 3000) and Bryce Vollrath (shot put) are expected to pace ONU in South Dakota.
Doane (Neb.) is also expected to contend for a podium spot with its 12 entries. All but one of the Tigers’ entries is going to be in the field, as the lone outlier is the 4×400 relay.
Here are the teams that rounded out the top-10 in the Pre-Championships Edition: No. 6 Concordia (Neb.), No. 7 St. Francis (Ill.), No. 8 Taylor (Ind.), No. 9 Marian (Ind.) and No. 10 Saint Mary (Kan.).
Be sure to check back this weekend as we’ll have a recap of the meet up on Saturday!
