2021 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 9
NEW ORLEANS – Championship time is back in a big way as the 2021 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships return to Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Action begins Wednesday for the three-day meet that will be held for the seventh consecutive year at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium Complex.
The men’s championships will be the NAIA’s 69th edition and could find a new program at the top of the podium, according to the latest NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Ratings Index that was released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
NAIA — Men's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Doane (Neb.)
Doane (Neb.)
2
Indiana Tech
Indiana Tech
3
Southeastern (Fla.)
Southeastern (Fla.)
4
Huntington (Ind.)
Huntington (Ind.)
5
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Wayland Baptist (Texas)
All TFRI Reports
Doane (Neb.) actually strengthened its hold at the top of the National TFRI. The Tigers are clearly a favorite for the title on that basis, let alone having the most entries in the meet – 24 in individual events plus a pair of relays.
Field events are where Doane is slated to make the most noise, with leaders in the both high jump with Jacob Heitkamp and the decathlon with Levi Sudbeck, who won the heptathlon in the NAIA Indoor meet in March. Four other field-eventers are among the top-4 ranked athletes in the meet.
Doane has never won this meet, but finished as runner-up in 2011.
Closest in the National TFRI is No. 2 Indiana Tech, which has the next-most entries in the meet with 17 individuals and all three relays. The relays are the Warriors’ strength, ranking among the top three in the 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800.
Indiana Tech, which last won this title in 2016, earned a thrilling NAIA Indoor team crown in March with a victory in the climactic 4×400, which is the final scheduled event in this meet as well.
If No. 3 Southeastern (Fla.) and No. 4 Huntington (Ind.) were any closer in the National TFRI they would be tied – just 0.01 separates the two programs.
Southeastern has three of the top-8 athletes in the 110 hurdles – led by No. 1 Davonte Vanterpool – while Huntington is strong in the distances but can also claim the national co-leader in the 400 hurdles in Dylan Felger.
Moving up two spots to No. 5 in the National TFRI is Wayland Baptist, owners of the fastest 4×400 relay team coming in. The quartet is led by 400 national leader Che Lara and No. 5 Demetrius Turner, but don’t overlook Reggie Mouton, a two-time NAIA champion in the indoor 600.
Rounding out the top-10 programs in the TFRI are No. 6 Madonna, No. 7 Midland, No. 8 Grand View, No. 9 Saint Mary (Kan.) and No. 10 Oregon Tech.
Several individual stars are ready to return, but probably none more than Ineh Emmanuel of William Carey, the 2020 NAIA Indoor champion in the long jump who missed the 2021 meet. Only a freshman in outdoor eligibility, he leads both the long jump and triple jump and is a threat in the 100 as well.
Since Matthew Van Eps of Dordt (Iowa) last won the NAIA 800 in 2019 he’s added two indoor national titles at the same distance. Javelin leader Hunter Drops of Oregon Tech is also a previous winner in this meet – from 2018.
Pole vault leader John Hunter James of Columbia International will be competing in his first NAIA Outdoor meet – he’s won the last two indoor titles. Another two-time NAIA Indoor winner seeking an outdoor first is Midland’s Dylan Kucera in the shot put. Kucera rates high in the discus and hammer as well.
