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DIII Indoor Track and Field Preseason Top Teams are North Central, Wartburg ::: U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)Published by
Courtesy: Tom Lewis, USTFCCCA NEW ORLEANS – The men’s team at North Central College and the women’s team at Warburg College head preseason national team computer rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday. North Central is the winner of the past two men’s NCAA DIII indoor titles and Wartburg has won the national crown in two of the last three years indoors. National Computer Rankings: USTFCCCA preseason rankings were compiled for the first time ever in Division III. Teams are scored using similar methods employed as the previous two years, but, with preseason scoring, early-season scoring largely comes from previous season data. Preseason data will mix with information from the current season through week three. This method has been used in Division I for the past four years and enters a second year in Division II. The men’s heptathlon is in the NCAA Division III program of championship events for the first time starting this year, replacing the pentathlon. The heptathlon was not scored in this week’s team rankings due to lack of participation in this early part of the year. The next round of computer rankings will be released on January 25. The 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held in Grinnell, Iowa, on March 9-10.
About the Rankings Rankings are determined by a mathematical formula, which is based on current national descending order lists. This is what’s used to compile a team’s ranking. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national-title race. The Regional Index is determined using a similar method as national rankings, but on a smaller scale, comparing teams versus others within the same region. The result is a ranking that showcases squads with better all-around team potential — a group makeup critical for conference or similar team-scored events. A team may achieve a better regional ranking than a counterpart that has a better national ranking. Historically, some teams are better national-championship teams than conference-championship teams, having a few elite athletes that score very well in a diverse environment where teams do not have entries in more than a few events. Some teams are better at conference championships or similar team-scored events where they enter, and are competitive, in many of the events. How a team fares in a national championship, conference championship, or scored meet with only a couple or few teams (like a dual or triangular) can be very different, given the number of events, competition, scoring, and makeup of entries — thus the rationale behind each of the ranking systems. Similar arguments about team makeup and rankings can also be found in swimming & diving and wrestling as their sports also have a similar trichotomy when it comes to team theory. Read the full article at: www.ustfccca.org
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