2023 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 1
NEW ORLEANS – Welcome to outdoor track season.
It’s been waiting for you.
Here is the Week 1 edition of the NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index for the 2023 season, as released on Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Only marks from the current outdoor track and field season have been used in this objective compilation.
NAIA — Men's Outdoor Track & Field
This Week's National Top Five
1
Southeastern (Fla.)
Southeastern (Fla.)
2
British Columbia
British Columbia
3
The Master's (Calif.)
The Master's (Calif.)
4
Montreat (N.C.)
Montreat (N.C.)
5
Florida Memorial
Florida Memorial
All TFRI Reports
Southeastern (Fla.) begins its 2023 campaign with an astonishing eighteen top-10 performances, five of which rank tops in the NAIA. Three of those No. 1 performances are courtesy of senior Keishon Franklin. So far this season, Franklin has run a leg on both his team’s top-ranked 4×400 meter (3:11.26), and 4x100m (40.35) relay teams. He also turned in a 400-meter time of 46.65 at the Knights Invite this past weekend and ranks fifth in the 200 meters at 21.08. James Williamson III has also stood out with top performances, as he currently holds the top 200-meter time (20.73), ran a leg on the same top-ranked 4x100m relay as Franklin, and also comes in at third in the 100 meters (10.38). John Perez-Dunn rounds out the top-ranked athletes for the Fire, as his steeplechase time of 9:23.21 is good enough to land himself atop the NAIA ranks in that event. Another event in which the team especially excels in is the 110-meter hurdles, as Davonte Vanterpool, Darion Carter, and Glenn Rodgers are ranked second, third, and fourth with times of 14.08, 14.24, and 14.43, respectively. Carter also ranks seventh in the 400-meter hurdles (54.02). Davien Worrels owns high marks in multiple events himself (fifth in the 200m in 21.20, and sixth in the 400m in 47.32), as does thrower Kyle Manuel in both the discus (47.11m/154-7, seventh) and shot put (17.23m/56-6½, second). James Turner (53.06, fourth) and Vincent Lopez (53.42, fifth) in the 400H, along with 3,000m steeplechaser Luke Callery (9:44.17), round out the top-10 performances for the Fire.
British Columbia finds itself ranked second to start the season. The Thunderbirds own 12 marks that reside among the national top-5, including four chart-toppers: Dylan Ulrich in the steeplechase (9:02.93); Tyler Wilson in the 5000-meter race walk (22:26.27); Matthew Uliana in the hammer (63.58m/208-7); and Daniel Smart-Reed in the javelin (62.92m/206-5).
The third-ranked Mustangs of The Master’s (Calif.) are headlined in the distance events, as three of their four top-ranked individual efforts come from those athletes. Besides Caleb Pauliot’s top-ranked pole vault leap of 5.20m (17-¾), all the rest of the Mustangs’ top-10 performances are courtesy of distance runners. Davis Boggess has made not one, but two No. 1 performances this season, most recently at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival when he ran a 1500-meter time of 3:47.86. His first 5000-meter race of the season two weeks earlier was also good enough to put him atop the NAIA leaderboards, as he ran a time of 14:12 at the Occidental College Distance Carnival and Spring Break Classic. Hunter Romine’s second-ranked 5000-meter time of 14:36.27 puts the Mustangs 1-2 in that event. At the Westmont Classic this past weekend, Boggess also ran the anchor leg on his second-ranked 4x800m relay team, helping them to a time of 7:41.81. Brint Laubach has also stood out tremendously for the Mustang distance crew, as he has turned in a 10,000-meter time of 30:34.30 that puts him first in the NAIA, as well as a 5000-meter time of 14:46.71 that ranks him sixth. Rounding out the top-10 performances for the Mustangs are Jack Anderson (3:54.38, fifth) and Andrew Cross (3:54.97, seventh) in the 1500 meters, Levi Robert (9:31.56, fourth) in the steeplechase, and Connor Ybarra in the 10,000 (32:00.76, eighth).
Fourth-ranked Montreat (N.C.) is led by six athletes that have made their way into the top-10 with their individual performances, led by Dustin Blevins, who turned in the top long jump mark in the nation (7.55m/24-9¼) at the Montreat College Open this past weekend. He also ran the anchor leg on his 4×100 meter relay team that ranks third (40.84). Dylan Branch has contributed in a big way for the Cavaliers this season in the distance races, as his time of 1:53.73 in the 800 meters ranks him seventh, and his 1500-mter time of 3:54.15 places him fourth on the NAIA leaderboard. Rounding out the top-10 marks for the Cavaliers are Ruchen Blaauw in the 800 (1:53.66, sixth), and Wyatt Wilson in the 5000-meter racewalk (26:27.97, fourth).
Rounding out the top-5 this week, Florida Memorial has had eight top-10 performances itself, two of which include top dogs in the NAIA to this point. Saminu Abdul-Rasheed holds one of those top marks, as his 100-meter time of 10.11 that he ran at the Hurricane Invitational is good enough to land him atop the mountain. Rasheed has completed the sprinters trifecta in terms of top-5 rankings, as he also ranks fourth in the 200 (21.04) and fifth in the 400 (47.92). He has also run a leg on both of his relays, as his 4x100m (40.86) and 4x400m (3:18.24) teams are both ranked fourth. Jaylen Coleman owns the other top-ranked mark for the Lions, as he turned in a top performance of 15.27m (50-1¼) in the triple jump at the Hurricane Invitational. Omar Kelly (400, 48.71, ninth) and Christian Edgerson (long jump, 7.24m/23-9, 3rd).
Rounding out the top-10 this week are Keiser (Fla.) at No. 6, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at No. 7, Westmont (Calif.) at No. 8, Dillard (La.) at No. 9, and Life (Ga.) at No. 10.
Mark your calendars for May 24-26, because that’s when the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana.
