2023 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 8
NEW ORLEANS – This is officially our last weekend without national championship action, as the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set to begin next Wednesday!
At No. 1, Southeastern (Fla.) appears to be the favorite going into the NAIA Championships, with British Columbia sitting not too far behind at No. 2. Life (Ga.) comes in at No. 3, while Dordt (Iowa) stays put at No. 4. And finally, Marian (Ind.) moved back into the top-5 of the latest National TFRI, which was 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
Life (Ga.)
Life (Ga.)
4
Dordt (Iowa)
Dordt (Iowa)
5
Marian (Ind.)
Marian (Ind.)
All TFRI Reports
Southeastern (Fla.) has been on a roll and hurdler Davonte Vanterpool is a big reason why, Vanterpool clocked an NAIA record and top-ranked 110-meter hurdle time of 13.73 this past weekend while competing at the PURE Athletics Sprint Elite Meet. His teammate, Darion Carter, finished three hundredths of a second behind him in the same race in 13.76 to land himself second on the NAIA leaderboard in the event. Look for that duo to pick up a good chunk of the Fire’s points next week, among other talented athletes.
Sitting at No. 2, but not too far behind, is British Columbia. The Man of the Hour for the Thunderbirds this past weekend was none other than Nathaniel Paris, as he was able to rack up 6587 points in the decathlon at the APU Franson Last Chance Meet. That performance is good enough to land him fifth in the nation. Within striking distance of the top spot as a team, the distance races are where the Thunderbirds could get a solid amount of their points, with high rankings in the 3000-meter steeplechase (Dylan Uhrich, first in 8:52.31), the 5000 meters (John Perrier, third in 14:02.26), and the 5000-meter racewalk (Tyler Wilson, second in 21:34.25).
Coming into the national championships with a sprint squad that could make some serious noise, Life (Ga.) is another team to be on the lookout for. For the Running Eagles, Phemelo Matlhabe is a name in particular to keep in mind, as the sprinter has the possibility of finishing on the podium in four different events: the 100 meters (where he ranks fifth in 10.28), the 200 meters (where he ranks third in 20.56), and both the team’s top-ranked 4x100m and 4x400m relay groups (both of which he holds shares in with times of 39.65 and 3:08.51 respectively).
Dordt (Iowa) is the fourth-ranked team going into the final meet. While the Defenders had the week off before they make the trek to Indiana next week, look for the team to rack up points in the mid-distance events, starting with Payton Mauldin in the 800 meters, where he ranks as the top dog in the NAIA in 1:49.07. Other Defenders with the potential to bring home points and hardware are steeplechasers Peter Shippy (9:08.74, third) and Thaniel Schroeder (9:10.72, fourth), and 5000-meter runner Joe Anderson (14:21.59, fourth).
Moving into the top-5 for the first time in several weeks, and only two points behind the No. 4 team in the TFRI, Marian (Ind.) will enter NAIAs with the fifth-ranked spot. Most recently, the Knights were at the Crossroads League Outdoor Championships, where they got a number of their top performances, including a second-ranked shot put heave from Jacob Netral (17.74m/58-2½). Another performance that stood out at the meet was the third-ranked time of 7:32.85 that the Knights’ 4x400m relay squad clocked.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 8: The Master’s (Calif.) at No. 6, Cumberland (Tenn.) at No. 7, Keiser (Fla.) at No. 8, Indiana Wesleyan at No. 9, and Multnomah (Ore.) at No. 10.
Make your plans for next week, as action from the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships gets underway on May 24 and concludes on May 26.
