2022 NCAA DIII Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 7
NEW ORLEANS – Championships Week is finally upon us!
Here is the Pre-Championships Edition of the NCAA Division III Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index for the 2022 season! Allow this to serve as a team preview for the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships that gets underway on Friday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina!
NCAA Division III — Men's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
UW-Oshkosh
UW-Oshkosh
2
Wartburg
Wartburg
3
Loras
Loras
4
Williams
Williams
5
UW-Eau Claire
UW-Eau Claire
All TFRI Reports
UW-Oshkosh is the prohibitive favorite going into the NCAA meet, at least according to the National TFRI. The Titans, who have a gender-high 16 entries, will be looking for their first national title since 2009 when they shared it with rival UW-La Crosse. UW-Oshkosh has 10 entries in the sprints alone, including a whopping six in the 60. Expect big things from Jaylen Grant and Davian Willems, who are tied at No. 2 on the seasonal chart with their respective 6.72 efforts that also rank them highly in NCAA DIII history.
Wartburg used a late-season surge to vault to No. 2 in the final edition. The Knights, who have 12 entries to the NCAA meet, will look to build upon the success at the championship level from this past outdoor season where they won their first national title in program history. Wartburg has nine entries ranked among the top-10 seasonal performers, including a double national leader in Dallas Wright, who tops both the 200 and 400. The Knights have multiple entries in the distance events with two in the 3000m and another in the 5000.
Loras dropped one spot to No. 3, but is still a threat to win the title. The Duhawks bring nine entries with them to North Carolina, of which eight rank among the top-10 seasonal performers. Mike Jasa has been a star for Loras this season, sitting atop the national chart in the 800 and giving the program quick laps on a pair of relay teams (distance medley relay and 4×400 relay).
Williams slid to No. 4 and will hope to make just its second podium at this meet. Aidan Ryan could turn in some major points for the Ephs, as he is not only the national leader in both the mile and 3000m, but the fastest athlete in NCAA DIII history in both. Ryan is also a member of the second-fastest DMR in NCAA DIII history that could make headlines in North Carolina. Be sure to look out for Elias Lindgren and Grahm Tuohy Gaydos in the distance events as well.
UW-Eau Claire climbed one spot from No. 6 to No. 5. The Blugolds, who hauled in 13 entries to the NCAA meet, are a regular player on the national stage with eight podium finishes. UW-Eau Claire will rely heavily on its field athletes, as 10 of its 13 entries are in those events. Look for three or more Blugolds in both the heptathlon and pole vault, which includes NCAA DIII record-holder Marcus Weaver in the former (Weaver put up 5533 points back on January 28).
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 7: No. 6 Mount Union (down one spot), No. 7 SUNY Geneseo (no change), No. 8 Rowan (up seven spots), No. 9 UW-La Crosse (up three spots) and No. 10 Benedictine (Ill.) (down one spot). Want to know a similarity between four of those five teams? They’re all ranked among the top-10 seasonal performers in the 4×400 relay (The Profs are No. 1 at 3:12.80 with one of the fastest marks in NCAA DIII history).
Follow us on social media and check back throughout the week for more on the meet.
