2022 NCAA DII Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – It’s meet week!
Here is the Pre-Championships edition of the NCAA Division II Men’s Indoor Track & Field National TFRI for the 2022 season, as released on Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Let this serve as a team preview of the 2022 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships that will take place this weekend in Pittsburg, Kansas.
NCAA Division II — Men's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Pittsburg State2
Grand Valley State3
West Texas A&M4
Colo. School of Mines5
Central MissouriAll TFRI Reports
Pittsburg State will head into the NCAA Championships as the favorite to stand atop the podium, and there’s no better place to do that at home. The Gorillas hauled in 15 entries for the meet, in which nine of them rank among the top-5 seasonally, including three national leaders in Henry Kiner (triple jump), Trey Mooney (heptathlon) and the 4×400 relay. Braylen Brewer is slated to have a busy weekend Gorillas. He is ranked second in the 400, second in the 200 and part of the the top-ranked 4×400 and third-ranked DMR. Pittsburg State will also see third-ranked Mason Strader in the mile and on the DMR, fourth-ranked Hunter Jones in the high jump and fifth-ranked Nizar Alarahshun in the 400 and 4×400 relay.
Second-ranked Grand Valley State has a gender-high 18 entries for the NCAA Championships and 14 of them rank among the top-10 seasonlly. The Lakers have a pair of top-4 entries in the high jump, as Eli Kosiba is ranked second and Jonathan Rankins-James is ranked fourth. Also in the field events, Myles Kerner is ranked third in the shot put. The Lakers also have several sprints and distance athletes ranked among the top-10 along with a pair of relays.
West Texas A&M is ranked third with 12 entries. The Buffs have five top-5 seasonal performers heading into the meet. Benjamin Azamati will lead the herd with his national-leading times in the 60 and 200. Other highly-ranked athletes that could turn in important points for the Buffs are second-ranked Tyrin Lewis in the 60H, third-ranked Butare Rugenerwa in the 800 and third-ranked Hamdi Alamin in the high jump.
Fourth-ranked Colorado School of Mines will travel to Pittsburg, Kansas with 14 entries. The Orediggers are strongest in their distance events, most notably the 5000, as they have four entries ranked among the top-8. Leading the way will be Dillon Powell as the top seed, followed by Kyle Moran (second), Jake Mitchem (fourth) and Dylan Ko (eighth). Luke Julian (mile) and Grant Redmond (high jump) are also top-5 seasonal performers in their respective events.
Central Missouri will round out the top-5 and eye a podium finish. The Mules have 10 entries for the meet in which seven of them are ranked in the top-5. Christopher Goodwin leads the team as the top-seed in the long jump. Three other athletes boast top-4 billings: Antonio Lay is ranked second in the 60; Vincent Hobbie and Reagan Ulrich are ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the pole vault; Trey Miller is ranked second in the heptathlon.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the Pre-Championships edition with their entry totals listed: No. 6 American International (10), No. 7 Ashland (10), No. 8 Adams State (10), No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce (10) and No. 10 Lee (Tenn.) (seven).
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