2022 NCAA DIII Women’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 4
NEW ORLEANS – Welcome to Crunch Time!
Here is the newest edition of the NCAA Division III Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index, which was released on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Remember that this ranking system is completely objective, as in it only tabulates marks from the current season, and gives a comprehensive look at where teams stand compared to their peers, as it pertains to their marks on the Descending Order List.
NCAA Division III — Women's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Loras
Loras
2
UW-La Crosse
UW-La Crosse
3
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
4
Washington (Mo.)
Washington (Mo.)
5
Chicago
Chicago
All TFRI Reports
Loras held steady at No. 1 and doesn’t seem like it will budge any time soon. The Duhawks hold nine national top-10 marks, including four that top the national charts. Kassie Parker has two of those, as she is the top athlete in both the 3000m and 5000m with her 9:13.10 and 15:58.58 efforts, respectively. That second mark might stand out to you, because Parker became the first female athlete in NCAA DIII history to go sub-16 minutes over 5000m. Alyssa Pfadenhauer also has her hands on two national-leading efforts, one in the 400m of 55.95 and another in the guise of the top-ranked 4×400 relay that lowered its time to 3:48.97 this past weekend.
UW-La Crosse didn’t budge from No. 2 and justifiably so. The Eagles dot the Descending Order Lists like no other. UW-La Crosse athletes have combined for 10 national top-10 efforts, which includes a national leader for Hannah Zenkovich in the pentathlon with 3664 points. Elsewhere, the Eagles have two athletes ranked in the top-10 of the 60-meter hurdles, two in the long jump and two top-3 efforts from Skye Digman in the throws (No. 2 shot put, No. 3 weight throw).
Johns Hopkins cemented its footing as the third-best team in the nation. The Blue Jays saw another all-time effort from Ella Baran this past weekend, as the standout broke her second divisional record in as many weeks. Baran covered 3000 meters in 9:13.32, which demolished Missy Buttry’s 19-year-old record of 9:20.85. Just one week earlier, Baran smashed Butty’s mile record with her 4:40.53 effort on the famed track inside The Armory in New York City. Baran wasn’t the only Johns Hopkins athlete who ran well over 3000m this past weekend, as Alex Ross (No. 8, 9:43.95) and Sara Stephenson (No. 9, 9:44.52) also moved up the seasonal chart.
Washington (Mo.) moved one spot closer to the top of the National TFRI, going from No. 5 to No. 4. The Bears added or improved three national top-10 marks this past weekend, including the second-best 4×400 relay of the season at 3:54.13. Alessia Sarussi and Aoife Dunne joined teammate Emma Kelley among the top-10 athletes this season in the 800m: Kelley is No. 2 at 2:10.86; Sarussi is now ranked No. 6 at 2:13.24; Dunne is ranked No. 8 at 2:13.67.
UChicago found its way back into the top-5 after a one-spot improvement since Week 3. The Maroons added or improved two national top-10 marks to its ledger this past weekend thanks to Loren Brown in the 60H (No. 3, 8.76) and Maddie Kelley in the mile (No. 10, 4:57.19).
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 4: No. 6 Wartburg (down two spots), No. 7 Ithaca, No. 8 Williams (up three spots), No. 9 SUNY Geneseo and No. 10 UW-Oshkosh.
Mark your calendars for March 11-12, because that’s when the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
