Friday, March 25, 2016

UW-La Crosse Men & Women Headline First NCAA DIII Outdoor Rankings

 


By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA
March 23, 2016   



NEW ORLEANS — At the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships last year, both UW-La Crosse teams returned to prominence in dominant fashion.

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men

1)Texas A&M2)Texas A&M3)Oregon4)Texas5)Texas
UW-La CrosseUW-WhitewaterUW-Eau ClaireMonmouth (Ill.)UW-Stevens Point
171.49 pts112.51 pts111.70 pts90.80 pts86.73 pts
View Complete Men’s National Team Computer Rankings

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women

1)Oregon2)Texas3)Oregon4)Texas A&M5)Oregon
UW-La CrosseBaldwin WallaceWashington (Mo.)Illinois WesleyanMIT
181.08 pts120.63 pts118.71 pts116.84 pts99.32 pts
View Complete Women’s National Team Computer Rankings
 

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Top TFRRS Qualifiers
# of Top-10 Athletes by Team
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The Eagles swept the national titles as both the men and women won by more than 20 points. It was the men’s first crown since 2013, while the women waited a bit longer to hold up a championship trophy once again (1984).
If the calculations of the National Team Computer Rankings are correct, UW-La Crosse could add two more pieces of hardware to its trophy case in 2016. According to the preseason rankings, which were released Wednesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Eagles are heavily favored to sweep again this season.
UW-La Crosse’s men are more than 55 points up on second-place UW-Whitewater, last year’s third-place team. The Eagles tallied 171.49 points compared to the Warhawks’ 112.51, while last year’s runner-up UW-Eau Claire sits third with 111.70.
In the women’s rankings, UW-La Crosse owns an even healthier advantage. The Eagles earned 181.08 points, 60.45 more than second-ranked 2016 indoor champs Baldwin Wallace. Third-ranked Washington (Mo.) and fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan are the two other women’s teams with more than 100 points.
Points in the National Team Computer Rankings are calculated using descending order lists. The higher an athlete is ranked on the list, the more points he or she provides her team. Since there isn’t enough data from the current season, marks from previous outdoor seasons are included until enough data can be collected from the current season.
Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. A full description of the rankings can be found here.
Note: The National Team Computer Rankings should not be referred to as a poll since no voting occurs during the process.

Men’s Rankings

One look at the returning talent the UW-La Crosse has and it’s easy to see why the team is favored to repeat.
The Eagles have seven top-5 marks in the combined descending order lists, led by the top-ranked 4×100 relay team in the nation. Outside of that relay — and the third-ranked 4×400 team — here are UW-La Crosse’s highly-ranked individuals: Ross Denman (2nd 400 meters), Zak Wallenfang (3rd 400 hurdles), Matt Eidenschink (4th steeplechase), Alex Koenen (4th 100 meters) and Daniel Otto (5th 110 hurdles).
UW-Whitewater should be led by the tremendous trio of Theron Baumann, Robert Starnes and Parker Witt. Baumann (shot put, discus) and Starnes (high jump, long jump) are both forces in the field, while Witt should contribute major points in the 100 meters and 200 meters.
For UW-Eau Claire to complete the fabled "Triple Crown" (titles in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field, all in the same academic year), its athletes must continue to step up in crunch time. The Blugolds will look to thrower Alex Mess, distance runners Christian Leitner, Ryan Mugan and Josh Thorson as well as the strong relay teams to carry them come May.
Monmouth (Ill.) and UW-Stevens Point shot into the top-5 for the first time in program history this early in the season. The Scots, headlined by Ethan Reschke (1st 200 meters, 3rd 400 meters) and Pointers, led by junior jumper Jerry Williams, went from unranked and 33rd to fourth and fifth, respectively.
Rounding out the top-10 in the men’s rankings are sixth-ranked North Central (Ill.), No. 7 St. Olaf, No. 8 Williams, No. 9 UW-Oshkosh and No. 10 Salisbury.
Teams making huge strides in the preseason rankings also include Rowan (13th), Aurora (14th), George Fox (17th) and Wesley (20th).

Women’s Rankings

When a team has six individuals and/or relays ranked in the top-2, it’s hard to not call it the favorite.
That’s the case with UW-La Crosse in the women’s rankings.
The Eagles are led by Meg Heafy (1st 100 meters, 1st 200 meters), Bria Halama (1st triple jump, 2nd 400 meters) and its pair of second-ranked relay teams (4×100, 4×400). Throw in Claire Gordee in the 100 hurdles and Meaghan Howell in the pole vault and UW-La Crosse is loaded.
It would be impossible, however, to count out Baldwin Wallace. The Yellow Jackets did just win the indoor title thanks to performance of Kim Gallavan and Melanie Winters, both of whom are poised for big outdoor seasons.
Washington (Mo.) and Illinois Wesleyan settled in behind Baldwin Wallace (120.63), but both aren’t too far behind. The Bears, led by Kelli Hancock, Daisy Ogede and Emily Warner, tallied 118.71 points, while the Titans, with a squadron of field athletes and Nia Joiner, compiled 116.84.
Fifth-ranked MIT sits in familiar territory, since that’s where the Engineers placed last year at NCAAs.
Two teams found themselves in the top-10 this early in the season for the first time in a few years — Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Rowan. The former started out as No. 7 in 2012, while the latter earned a third-place billing to star tthe 2014 season.
Nebraska Wesleyan, UW-Stout, Ohio Wesleyan and SUNY Oneonta all came out of relative obscurity at the end of the 2015 season (read: ranked outside of the top-50) to land in the preseason top-25.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III

Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)

2016 Preseason — March 23

next ranking: TUESDAY, April 5
RankInstitutionPointsConferenceHead Coach (Yr)2015 FINAL
1UW-La Crosse171.49WIACJosh Buchholtz (8th)1
2UW-Whitewater112.51WIACMike Johnson (7th)3
3UW-Eau Claire111.70WIACChip Schneider (14th)2
4Monmouth (Ill.)90.80MidwestRoger Haynes (33rd)NR
5UW-Stevens Point86.73WIACRick Witt (37th)33
6North Central (Ill.)80.72CCIWFrank Gramarosso (6th)7
7St. Olaf75.79MIACPhil Lundin (8th)5
8Williams75.30NESCACEthan Barron (1st)12
9UW-Oshkosh73.36WIACBen Dorsey (1st)39
10Salisbury68.02CACJim Jones (17th)4
11Whitworth67.30NorthwesToby Schwarz (20th)19
12UW-Platteville64.64WIACChris Rotzenberg (4th)7
13Rowan61.72NJACDustin Dimit (2nd)43
14Aurora61.59NACCRyan Chapman (8th)39
15Occidental57.90SCIACRobert Bartlett (11th)27
16Augustana (Ill.)57.60CCIWPaul Olsen (47th)7
17George Fox54.36NorthwestJohn Smith (10th)61
18St. Scholastica50.26UMACKirk Nauman (9th)49
19Mount Union49.49OACKevin Lucas (6th)15
20Wesley49.07CACStephen Kimes (4th)74
21Wabash46.02NCACClyde Morgan (8th)27
22Rhode Island College45.34Little EastKevin Jackson (15th)23
23Widener45.07Middle AtlanticVince Touey (29th)43
24RPI45.04Liberty LeagueColin Tory (16th)49
25UW-Stout44.58WIACKyle Steiner (3rd)11
View All Teams Beyond the Top 25

Men’s Conference Index Top 10
RankConferencePointsTop 25 Teams
1WIAC701.657
2CCIW221.102
3SCIAC191.961
4Northwest Conference190.452
5MIAC188.111
6NESCAC153.961
7CAC147.282
8NCAC138.641
9Middle Atlantic134.421
10SUNYAC134.41

Men’s Regional Index Leaders
RegionInstitutionPointsLast Week
Atlanticreturns April 5
Centralreturns April 5
Great Lakesreturns April 5
Mideastreturns April 5
Midwestreturns April 5
New Englandreturns April 5
South/Southeastreturns April 5
Westreturns April 5
View All Regional Rankings

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)

2016 Preseason — March 23

next ranking: TUESDAY, April 5
RankInstitutionPointsConferenceHead Coach (Yr)2015 FINAL
1UW-La Crosse181.08WIACPat Healy (25th)1
2Baldwin Wallace120.63OACMatthew Cole (1st)8
3Washington (Mo.)118.71UAAJeff Stiles (15th)3
4Illinois Wesleyan116.84CCIWChris Schumacher (19th)4
5MIT99.32NEWMACHalston Taylor (9th)5
6UW-Eau Claire97.70WIACChip Schneider (10th)2
7Claremont-Mudd-Scripps87.44SCIACKelly Beck (2nd)17
8Rowan84.06NJACDerick “Ringo” Adamson (9th)57
9UW-Oshkosh75.03WIACBen Dorsey (4th)7
10North Central (Ill.)67.45CCIWKari Kluckhohn (13th)6
11Williams66.44NESCACNate Hoey (3rd)21
12Nebraska Wesleyan66.10Great PlainsTed Bulling (29th)51
13UW-Platteville62.75WIACChris Rotzenberg (4th)40
14St. Thomas (Minn.)62.05MIACJoe Sweeney (36th)22
15UW-Stevens Point61.16WIACBrett Witt (2nd)22
16UW-Stout56.45WIACKyle Steiner (3rd)73
17Cornell College54.95MidwestDan Schofer (4th)10
18Whitworth52.09NorthwestToby Schwarz (20th)13
19Luther51.29IIACJeffrey Wettach (10th)12
20Lehman49.19CUNYACPete Charles (4th)19
21SUNY Oneonta48.90SUNYACAngelo Posillico (3rd)NR
22Ohio Wesleyan47.65NCACKris Boey (14th)73
23Denison46.04NCACMark FitzPatrick (5th)22
24Carleton45.90MIACDonna Ricks (23rd)46
25St. Lawrence45.11Liberty LeagueKate Curran (8th)8
View All Teams Beyond the Top 25

Women’s Conference Index Top 10
RankConferencePointsTop 25 Teams
1WIAC561.966
2CCIW229.212
3OAC215.781
4NESCAC200.101
5SCIAC187.821
6IIAC186.661
7UAA167.621
8MIAC154.982
9NCAC154.012
10NEWMAC146.731

Women’s Regional Index Leaders (FINAL)
RegionInstitutionPointsLast Week
Atlanticreturns April 5
Centralreturns April 5
Great Lakesreturns April 5
Mideastreturns April 5
Midwestreturns April 5
New Englandreturns April 5
South/Southeastreturns April 5
Westreturns April 5
View All Regional Rankings


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