By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA                                                                                 March 7, 2016

NEW ORLEANS — With the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships set for this weekend, it’s time to take one final look at the National Team Computer Rankings.

NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS TOP 5 – MEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) UW-Eau Claire UW-La Crosse UW-Whitewater Monmouth (Ill.) North Central (Ill.) 155.71 pts 144.50 pts 119.83 pts 112.24 pts 82.84 pts View Complete Men’s National Team Rankings   NCAA DIVISION III NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS TOP 5 – WOMEN 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Illinois-Wesleyan UW-La Crosse MIT Baldwin Wallace Washington (Mo.) 127.81 pts 115.86 pts 108.27 pts 96.54 pts 95.96 pts View Complete Women’s National Team Rankings

In the most recent version that was released Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the UW-Eau Claire men and theIllinois Wesleyan women were established as the favorites to win their respective gender’s team titles in Grinnell, Iowa.

The pre-championships edition of the National Team Computer Rankings are based soley on entry lists to the NCAA meet and that gives a strong idea as to why the Blugolds and Titans were the top-ranked programs.

Illinois Wesleyan nabbed 11 accepted entires, the most of any women’s team in DIII. The Titans will compete across five disciplines (sprint/hurdles, distance, relays, jumps, combined events) with two of those (sprints/hurdles and jumps) seeing four of their athletes in them. Based off the lists, IWU should receive a healthy dose of scoring from Nia Joiner (No. 1 in the 60, No. 14 in the long jump) and Jill Harmon (No. 2 in the triple jump, No. 4 in the pentathlon, No. 9 in the 60 hurdles).

While UW-Eau Claire had the second most entries among men’s teams (10, compared to UW-La Crosse‘s 14), the Blugolds packed certain events. UW-Eau Claire’s standout distance trio of Darin Lau, Nick Petersson and Josh Thorson litter the 3000 and 5000, while Petersson and Thorson are both members of the Blugolds’ top-ranked DMR team. Alex Mess, the top-seeded male in the shot put and second-ranked competitor in the weight throw, can add huge points to UW-Eau Claire’s tally.

Behind both Illinois Wesleyan and UW-Eau Claire is UW-La Crosse. The Eagles have been incredibly successful at the NCAA meet, capturing 18 national titles including back-to-back men’s crowns in 2013-14 and the women’s championship last year.

For the UW-La Crosse men, the team will rely heavily upon its sprinters and mid-distance runners as they make up nine of the 14 entries. Let’s not forget about Brendan Deiss, who is the top-seeded high jumper, either. 

On the flip side, the Eagle women have the top-seeded athlete at 200 meters (Meg Heafy) and athletes spread out across five disciplines with multiples in three of those.

The top-5 in the men’s rankings behind UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse remained unchanged. UW-Whitewater is still ranked No. 3, while Monmouth (Ill.) and North Central (Ill.) come in at fourth and fifth, respectively.

There were a few changes in the women’s top-5, however, as MIT and Baldwin Wallace both jumped two spots. The Engineers, who went from No. 5 to No. 3, have seven entries at NCAAs, while the Yellow Jackets (No. 6 to No. 4) nabbed six.

One of the biggest movers in the top half of the men’s rankings was that of UW-Oshkosh. The Titans climbed five spots from No. 11 last week to No. 6 this week thanks to seven NCAA entries, including a pair of top-2 seeds in the 800 (Wal Khat) and shot put (Zachary Baehman).

In the women’s rankings, what Bowdoin did is nothing short of impressive. The Polar Bears went from outside the top-25 last week to No. 11 this week, the best mark in program history. What allowed Bowdoin to soar? Well, two of its three entires at the NCAA meet are ranked in the top-5 of their respective events —Sarah Kelly (mile) and Addison Carvajal (pentathlon).

The Polar Bears were one of four teams in the women’s rankings to move more than 10 spots. The others areWilliams (up 10 to No. 16), Ohio Wesleyan (up 14 to No. 20) and RPI (up 17 to No. 23).

The team that crept up the men’s rankings the most was SUNY Geneseo. The Knights were No. 24 last week and are No. 15 this week and have three NCAA entries.

Be sure to check back throughout the week as we preview the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.