2023 NAIA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 6
NEW ORLEANS – It’s Championships Week!
Here is the final edition of the NAIA Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index for the 2023 season with the NAIA Championships just days away. Only marks from the current season are being used, which means this is a completely objective look at which teams are favored to compete for the national title, as well as the remaining podium spots at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota.
NAIA — Men's Indoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Southeastern (Fla.)
Southeastern (Fla.)
2
Life (Ga.)
Life (Ga.)
3
Keiser (Fla.)
Keiser (Fla.)
4
Milligan (Tenn.)
Milligan (Tenn.)
5
Dordt (Iowa)
Dordt (Iowa)
All TFRI Reports
Southeastern (Fla.) is on top, just like it has been the entire season. The Fire, who are seeking their first indoor team title in program history, enter the meet with seven top-5 performances to their credit: Davonte Vanterpool and James Williamson III are national leaders in the 60-meter hurdles and 200 meters, respectively (Williamson is also ranked second in the 60). Vanterpool is one of three SEU athletes who are ranked among the top-8 in the 60H, so if he, Glenn Rodgers (No. 2) and Darion Carter (No. 8) all live up to their billing, those are big points for the Fire.
Life (Ga.) should be right up there contending for the national title. After all, the Running Eagles won the team title at the NAIA Outdoor Championships last year, so they have a winning pedigree. Jacob Ulrich will shoulder a lot of the load for Life (Ga.) this weekend, as he enters the meet ranked first nationally in two individual events (400, 600) and is the member of a nation-leading relay (4×400). William Jones is ready to soar in the horizontal jumps for the Running Eagles with his No. 2 billing in the triple jump and the No. 4 spot in the long jump.
Keiser (Fla.) maintains its No. 3 ranking this week and will look toward its field athletes in Brookings, South Dakota. The Eagles have nine national top-10 performances this season, five of which came in the field. Emil Carlsson is the top-ranked vaulter in the nation, while Cole Wilson and Nigel Steenwinkel are ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the heptathlon.
Milligan (Tenn.) finds itself in a familiar position: fourth. The Buffaloes are ready to roam in the endurance events at the Championships, seeing that 12 of their 13 national top-10 efforts are in the 800 meters to 5000 meters. Aaron Jones and Bryn Woodall are going to be key cogs for Milligan this weekend: Jones is No. 1 nationally in the 3000 and No. 5 in the 5000; Woodall is No. 1 in the 1000, No. 2 in the 3000 and No. 4 in the 5000. Chances are that Jones and Woodall pick and choose the events in which they’ll compete, but expect big points from them.
Dordt (Iowa) holds down the No. 5 spot entering the Championships. Like the Buffs above them, the Defenders have a strong endurance background. Dordt (Iowa) won’t be discounted in the 400 and 600, either, with Payton Mauldin patrolling those events. Mauldin is ranked second nationally in the 600 and seventh nationally in the 400. Trey Engen owns a pair of national top-7 efforts in both the mile (No. 5) and 1000 (No. 7). Both should feature on the DMR, too.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in the Pre-Championships Edition: No. 6 Grace (Ind.), No. 7 Marian (Ind.), No. 8 Doane (Neb.), No. 9 Madonna (Mich.) and No. 10 Oklahoma City. Further out of the top-10 is Indiana Tech at No. 15. We mention the Warriors, because they have a 10-year streak of top-3 finishes at the NAIA Indoor Championships.
