2022 NCAA DII Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 9

NEW ORLEANS – And then there was one.

Here is the Pre-Championships Edition of the 2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday. The only marks used in this edition of the National TFRI are those associated with athletes who qualified for the national championship meet.

NCAA Division II — Men's Outdoor Track & Field

This Week's National Top Five

1
West Texas A&M

2
Grand Valley State

3
Texas A&M-Commerce

4
Pittsburg State

5
Adams State

All TFRI Reports

NATIONAL TFRI
PDFs: Team Detail | Event Detail

West Texas A&M is poised to stand atop the podium at the end of competition in Allendale, Michigan. The Buffs have 22 entries for the NCAA Championships with multiple athletes entered in the 100 (4), 200 (3), 400 (2), 400H (2), 800 (2), high jump (2) and triple jump (2). West Texas A&M will rely heavily on their sprints, hurdles and relays group as they combine for more than half of their entries, with NCAA DII record-holders Benjamin Azamati (100 and 200) and Jahmaal Wilson (110H) leading the charge.

Don’t count Grand Valley State out of the title race. The second-ranked Lakers may be down by 68.3 points according to the computer ranking, but they will be looking to defend their national title, let alone doing it at home. The Lakers have 21 entries of their own and will look to score big in the distance events, especially from the duo of Isaac Harding and Tanner Chada: Harding is ranked No. 1 in the 5000 and No. 3 in the 10,000; Chada is ranked No. 2 in the 5000 and No. 4 in the 10,000. Grand Valley State also has some athletes highly ranked in the sprints and field events that can score big.

Third-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce and fourth-ranked Pittsburg State are in good position to earn podium finishes. The Lions have 15 entries qualified for the meet in 10 events, including three top-seeds from Ushan Perera in the high jump, Moaz Ibrahim in the discus and the 4×100 relay. Delan Edwin also holds a pair of top-5 seeds in the 100 and 200. The Gorillas will have 17 entries across 14 events, led by national leader Henry Kiner in the triple jump. Pittsburg State will also have the duo of Louis Rollins and TJ Caldwell in the 110H, who are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Fifth-ranked Adams State will round out the top teams heading into the national meet. The Grizzlies have 15 entries across nine events, with the heavy point scorers coming from the distance squad. Clement Duigou (steeplechase) and Awet Beraki (10,000) are the No. 1 seeds in their respective events and are also ranked among the top-6 seasonally in the 5000.

Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the Pre-Championships Edition of the National TFRI: No. 6 Central Missouri (unchanged), No. 7 Lincoln (Mo.) (unchanged), No. 8 Southern Connecticut (up three spots), No. 9 Colorado School of Mines (down one spot) and No. 10 CSU Pueblo (up one spot).

The 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set to begin this Thursday at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan!