National Division III Indoor Team Title Battle Brewing in Wisconsin

NEW ORLEANS – Conference championships weekend caused stirring throughout most of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III National Team Computer Rankings released Wednesday, but both the UW-La Crosse men and women held firm at No. 1.

Men’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse 223.86 pts	UW-Eau Claire 160.50 pts	UW-Oshkosh 126.31 pts	UW-Whitewater 115.74 pts	North Central (Ill.) 110.25 pts
View Complete Men’s Rankings

The defending indoor national champion men won a WIAC Championship meet that is shaping up to strongly resemble the team battle at the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb., March 14-15.

Following right in line behind the Eagle men (223.86 team rankings score) are conference rivals No. 2 UW-Eau Claire (160.50), No. 3 UW-Oshkosh (126.31) and No. 4 UW-Whitewater (115.74).

Led by National Athlete of the Week Thurgood Dennis, who posted top-ranked marks at 60 and 200 meters, and top-ranked heptathlete Brandon Zarnoth, the Blugolds of UW-Eau Claire improve their position in the rankings by two spots.

UW-Oshkosh held firm at No. 3, while UW-Whitewater was up four positions to No. 4. The Warhawks were boosted by  No. 2 long jumper Justin Bowers, No. 4 60-meter man Corey Broussard, and No. 9 heptathlete Stephen Sousa.

CCIW Champion North Central (Ill.) (110.25) tumbled three spots down to No. 5.

OAC champion No. 6 Mount Union (94.61), No. 7 Tufts (80.99), No. 8 Haverford (73.18), No. 9 Southern Maine (67.77) and No. 10 MIT (67.18) completed the top 10.

Southern Maine rocketed up 12 positions behind its top-ranked 4×400 relay team, making it the second-biggest mover of the week on the men’s side behind No. 12 Buffalo State’s 14-spot improvement.

Women’s Top Five
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse 184.03 pts	UW-Oshkosh 167.26 pts	Wartburg 127.64 pts	MIT 122.28 pts	Williams 109.01 pts
View Complete Women’s Rankings

The women’s top four all remained the same. WIAC champion UW-La Crosse (184.03) put a bit of distance between itself and defending indoor national champion No. 2 UW-Oshkosh (167.26), followed by preseason favorite No. 3 Wartburg (127.64) and No. 4 MIT (122.28).

Williams (109.01) moved up two spots from last week to finish the top five. The Ephs benefitted from top-five performances by No. 4 Kaleigh Kenny at 3000 meters and the No. 5 4×400 and distance medley relay teams.

Displaced one spot each by Williams were No. 6 UW-Whitewater (107.57) and No. 7 Wheaton (Mass.) (85.27).

Though it didn’t win the CCIW, Illinois Wesleyan (70.16) inched up one spot to No. 8, while CCIW champion North Central (66.68) ascended nine spots to No. 9. Washington (Mo.) (62.84) rounded out the top 10.

NJAC champion No. 12 Rowan moved up 17 positions from a week ago for the biggest improvement of the week, followed closely by a 16-notch jump by No. 21 St. Thomas (Minn.).

The national team rankings will be complied by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists. 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 team race. Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. A full description of the rankings can be found here.

The USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings should not be referred to as a “poll” as no voting occurs during the process.