2021 NCAA DII Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 1

NEW ORLEANS – It’s great to be back outdoors!

Grand Valley State will headline the first edition of the NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday afternoon.

No. 1 Grand Valley State holds a very slim margin over No. 2 West Texas A&M, followed by No. 3 Ashland, No. 4 Angelo State and No. 5 UC-Colorado Springs.

NCAA Division II — Men's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
Grand Valley State
West Texas A&M
Ashland
Angelo State
UC-Colorado Springs
1
Grand Valley State
2
West Texas A&M
3
Ashland
4
Angelo State
5
UC-Colorado Springs
All TFRI Reports

The Lakers will kick off the outdoor season as the top-ranked team for the first time in program history. With 14 total top-10 nationally ranked efforts through the first two weeks of competition, nine of them are ranked in the top-5. Dennis Mbuta has a claim to two of them, as he is the national leader in the 800 (1:48.24) and is No. 4 in the 1500. The duo of Isaac Harding and Tanner Chada sit at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, in the 10,000. In the field events, Jacob Battani returns in the pole vault with his No. 3 national ranking, and Justin Scavarda has the fourth-best mark in the shot put. Other top performers for the Lakers with No. 4 rankings include Jonathon Groendyk in the 800, Enael Woldemichael in the 5000 and Jackson Blanchard in the 400H.

The second-ranked Buffalos are off to a fast start to the outdoor season and have three national leading marks: Benjamin Azamati is the collegiate leader in the 100 after his blistering 9.97 at the Texas Relays that set the NCAA Division II record; Dhanushka Sandaruwan in the long jump (7.72m/25-4); Peniel Richard in the triple jump (15.54m/51-0). West Texas A&M also boasts several other top-5 nationally ranked athletes in their respective events. Owning No. 2 marks are Butare Rugenerwa in the 800, Tyrin Lewis in the 110H and Guillaume Devries in the high jump. Ezekiel Kipchirchir is also ranked No. 3 in the steeplechase.

Less than ten computed points behind is No. 3 Ashland with 13 top-10 nationally ranked marks. The Eagles are aiming to get back atop the outdoor podium like they did in 2019. No surprise here – Trevor Bassitt clocked the national leading marks in the 110 (13.59) and 400H (49.34) to become the No. 5 and No. 8 performers all-time in NCAA DII history, respectively. Bassitt was also part of the 4×100 that clocked the fastest time of the season (40.08). Alex Hill makes his return to the outdoor campaign with the No. 2 mark in the hammer and No. 4 in the discus, while Brent Fairbanks joins Hill as the third-best hammer thrower of the early season. 

Angelo State will debut at No. 4 with nine top-10 nationally ranked marks. Three of those marks are national leaders: Decio Andrade in the hammer (69.11m/226-9); Devoux Deysel in the javelin (73.82m/242-2); the 4×400 relay (3:12.85). Adding other top-performances include Cason Brown in the discus (No. 5) and the 4×100 with the second fastest time of the season.

With a program best ranking, UC-Colorado Springs will be making its first appearance in the top-5 in the outdoor National TFRI. The Mountain Lions amassed 12 nationally-ranked top-10 efforts in the first two weeks of competition, with six of them sitting in the top-5 of the Descending Order List. Pacing the team with two top-5 efforts is William Ross, as he is No. 2 in the long jump and No. 5 in the triple jump. Afewerki Zeru is second in the 5000, Justice Mendoza is third in the 200, Skye Ciccarelli is fourth in the high jump, and Charlie Forbes is fifth in the 110H.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 1: No. 6 Harding, No. 7 Tiffin, No. 8 Queens (N.C.), No. 9 Lee (Tenn.) and No. 10 Missouri Southern.

The 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set for May 27-29 in Allendale, Michigan, hosted by Grand Valley State.

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Presenting sponsor of USTFCCCA Polls and Rankings

NCAA Division II
Men's Outdoor Track & Field
USTFCCCA National TFRI: Track & Field Rating Index

2021 Checkpoint #1 - March 30th

Top 25 Teams
VIEW ALL TEAMS
National
Rank
 TeamPointsConferenceRegion2020
FINAL
1grand-valley-stateGRAND VALLEY STATE236.54GLIAC (1)Midwest---
2west-texas-amWEST TEXAS A&M233.03Lone Star (1)South Central---
3ashlandASHLAND225.21GLIACMidwest---
4angelo-stateANGELO STATE183.66Lone StarSouth Central---
5uc-colorado-springsUC-COLORADO SPRINGS173.62RMAC (1)South Central---
6hardingHARDING124.99GACCentral---
7tiffinTIFFIN111.21G-MAC (1)Midwest---
8queens-n-cQUEENS (N.C.)110.01SAC (1)Southeast---
9lee-tennLEE (TENN.)105.36GSCSouth---
10missouri-southernMISSOURI SOUTHERN92.42MIAACentral---
11east-texas-amEAST TEXAS A&M91.82Lone StarSouth Central---
12alabama-huntsvilleALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE91.55GSC (1)South---
13csu-puebloCSU PUEBLO89.26RMACSouth Central---
14pittsburg-statePITTSBURG STATE85.23MIAA (1)Central---
15colorado-mesaCOLORADO MESA64.59RMACSouth Central---
16northwood-michNORTHWOOD (MICH.)64.45GLIACMidwest---
17oklahoma-baptistOKLAHOMA BAPTIST63.10GAC (1)Central---
18adams-stateADAMS STATE60.54RMACSouth Central---
19wingateWINGATE60.19SACSoutheast---
20lincoln-moLINCOLN (MO.)57.34MIAACentral---
21carson-newmanCARSON-NEWMAN52.27SACSoutheast---
22emporia-stateEMPORIA STATE48.77MIAACentral---
23limestoneLIMESTONE45.86SACSoutheast---
24colorado-christianCOLORADO CHRISTIAN39.91RMACSouth Central---
25lewisLEWIS39.47GLVCMidwest---


Week-by-Week Ranking

Only showing those with a season-best ranking in the top 25.
TeamWeek #1Week #2Week #3Week #4Week #5Week #6Week #7Week #8Week #9FINAL
Grand Valley State1211511111
West Texas A&M2333452222
Angelo State4124343433
Ashland3452225344
Pittsburg State14545664654
Colo. School of Mines2926149136576
East Texas A&M11666877767
Missouri Southern1088779910108
Tiffin71211891110899
Southern Connecticut28393032182225171910
Central Missouri37991010889811
Carson-Newman21322629252728181711
Seton Hill40494034363942414113
Limestone23252123121314131214
Adams State1810712111211141615
Findlay901032918242421222715
Academy of Art108354714141816211817
Fort Hays State47333539293233293417
American International545860435727272419
Concordia-St. Paul30424242404438403619
Lincoln (Mo.)20191722272518192521
Lee (Tenn.)9151315151413111122
UC-Colorado Springs571011131012121322
Neb.-Kearney43242726303135363722
North Greenville59577275818189666422
Western Colorado31111824261515151426
Saginaw Valley State80935254734140242126
Minnesota State111293338331622283126
Benedict46503130324343434326
Colorado Mesa15211517191717161530
Queens (N.C.)8141213162123202630
Northwest Missouri52344961283029322830
Washburn39162021232926313330
McKendree92979810410969726030
Azusa PacificRVRV2427312631333235
Lenoir-Rhyne36456059586230262036
Texas A&M-Kingsville38434128394034394236
Illinois-Springfield805356754645454636
Chadron State63658262663444475036
MSU Moorhead755557373741464740
Alabama-Huntsville12171616171920232241
Oklahoma Baptist17202325354254343041
Southwest Baptist27405049465546383841
Montana St.-Billings48464848495155504941
Mississippi College41303441413336535541
Malone66778997837780615741
Indianapolis851106363606065717141
MansfieldRVRVRVRV5948
Davenport (Mich.)72686152525358566248
Northwood (Mich.)16222220202019252350
MSU Denver50283636424550544850
Western WashingtonRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV6550
Harding6131919222324302953
Northern State485151534952525253
Shippensburg78707874717662646853
UNC Pembroke45314543485059626156
Colorado Christian24413855343539423957
Emmanuel (Ga.)42444347444848484057
Saint Leo55596666633637444457
Oklahoma Christian648511277808663656657
Hillsdale49616567727366707457
CSU Pueblo131825312128323535
Augustana (S.D.)77685047533745
Lindenwood686659646766475151
Emporia State223744455559514953
Concord545262406174765554
Tampa605354585456576056
Charleston (W.Va.)343637375658616358
Wayne State (Neb.)323856505152605963
Missouri S&T444757656565565867
Catawba658883905964726869
Adelphi6071727069706770
Westminster (Utah)79819194951011037472
Southern Indiana88106878710263716973
Quincy (Ill.)3523323338384957
Wingate1927283557677473
Fresno Pacific2656394447546875
Lewis2564768289907576
Black Hills State7072869162616477
Ferris State90969674757878
Montevallo5855707076718279
Mount Olive3351465378828680
Wheeling1041041048181
Lubbock Christian5762677364727982
Missouri Western73807677788383
Shorter74869493100889284
Alaska Anchorage74748090946785
Glenville State10778738392958586
Central Washington7796998568687787
Columbus State5667757985707388
Dallas Baptist6771798184899189
Southwest Minnesota State111110114798490
Minot State1008493103107929591
Clayton State7176859598858892
Saint Rose82808793
Southern Arkansas5358646979839094
Sioux Falls1021121129495
Lincoln (Pa.)5163697169849396
UW-Parkside8693879697
Bloomfield98
Walsh8794921019610210699
Simon Fraser464510098100
Southern Wesleyan (S.C.)115829088919197101
Georgian Court769198100109105106102
Franklin Pierce10799102103
South Dakota Mines7389107929798100104
Seattle Pacific8610486105
Embry-Riddle (Fla.)RVRV84848893101106
Cameron6169818994103104107
Michigan TechRVRV6878869699108
Cedarville84100107111109108
Virginia StateRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV
Western OregonRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV
Kentucky WesleyanRVRVRVRVRVRVRV
Saint Augustine'sRVRVRVRVRVRV
Tusculum1011131018797105
Upper Iowa108108
West Alabama62798899103104
Slippery Rock839710410899105
Truman898795102101105
CUI81102105107105110
Savannah State9399101106112110
Augusta6983100104110
Lake Superior StateRVRVRVRV
Stonehill106
Kutztown105109
U-Mary102115106109
Biola (Calif.)959595110
West Virginia Wesleyan103112
Trevecca Nazarene829882
Rogers State9210992
Southern Nazarene9410794
Ohio Dominican9711297
Cal Poly Humboldt999999
Coker103117103
Florida Southern105105105
West Chester106106106
Drury109109109
Anderson (S.C.)109113109
Lincoln Memorial91115109
Davis and Elkins11195111
Christian Brothers96101111
Lake Erie111111111
West Liberty State75104113
Northwest Nazarene98108114
Lees-McRae114114114
Mars Hill115115115
Indiana (Pa.)115115115
Albany State (Ga.)RVRVRV
Saint Martin'sRVRVRV

USTFCCCA NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field

2021 Rankings Calendar
Weeks National TFRIRegional TFRIConference TFRI#EventSquad KEY DATES
Week 1Tue 3/30
MEN | WOMEN
Mon 3/29
MEN | WOMEN
Week 2Tue 4/6
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Mon 4/5
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Mon 4/5
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Week 3Tue 4/13
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Mon 4/12
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Mon 4/12
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Week 4Tue 4/20
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Mon 4/19
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Mon 4/19
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Mon 4/19
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Week 5Tue 4/27
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Mon 4/26
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Mon 4/26
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Mon 4/26
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Week 6Tue 5/4
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Mon 5/3
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Mon 5/3
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Mon 5/3
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Week 7Tue 5/11
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Mon 5/10
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Mon 5/10
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Mon 5/10
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Week 8Tue 5/18
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Mon 5/17
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Mon 5/17
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Mon 5/17
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Week 9Tue 5/25
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Mon 5/24
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Mon 5/24
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Mon 5/24
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May 27-29: NCAA DII Champs (Allendale, Mich.)
FINAL Results
(official final ranking)
Sat 5/29
MEN | WOMEN