Changes Abound in Second DIII ITF Rankings of 2016

COURTESY By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA

January 26, 2016

NEW ORLEANS — The NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field season might only be a month old, but the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings are getting quite the workout, specifically on the men’s side.
Exactly two weeks ago, the 2016 rankings debuted with the UW-La Crosse men and the MIT women as preseason favorites of their respective genders. That much hasn’t changed.

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Men
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
UW-La Crosse	UW-Eau Claire	UW-Oshkosh	North Central (Ill.)	St. Olaf
169.74 pts	114.79 pts	100.76 pts	97.30 pts	90.15 pts
View Complete Men’s National Coaches’ Poll

NCAA Division III National Team Rankings Top 5 – Women
1)	2)	3)	4)	5)
MIT	Illinois-Wesleyan	UW-La Crosse	UW-Oshkosh	Baldwin Wallace
178.98 pts	136.63 pts	133.51 pts	98.22 pts	85.16 pts
View Complete Women’s National Coaches’ Poll

More Info

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But what about those 10 teams listed behind the Eagles? Or those teams that found themselves in the 10-25 range in the women’s rankings?
We’ll get to that in a second. First, here’s how we get those rankings.
Scores in the National Team Computer Rankings were determined by the USTFCCCA computers using preseason event rankings that include the top marks of the recent NCAA indoor track & field seasons by returning student-athletes and the top marks of the young 2016 campaign. Marks from the outdoor season are not included, nor are marks from incoming freshmen until they compete in a collegiate meet.
The closer an athlete is to the top of his or her event rankings, the more points he or she earns toward the team total. Points from all applicable athletes are added up to determine team scores.
The point system used in the rankings is not the same as the scoring system used for the NCAA Championships.
A full breakdown of the national rankings methodology can be found here.
It should also be noted that the USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings should not be referenced to as a “poll,” since no voting was conducted.

Men’s Breakdown

In the two-week span between rankings, UW-La Crosse actually fortified its spot atop the rankings.
Sophomore high jumper Brendan Deiss and senior sprinter Alex Koenen turned in strong performances this past weekend. Deiss cleared 2.14m (7-1/4) and is tied for third on the Division III National Descending Order List, while Koenen clocked a 6.83 in the 60 and is also third on the chart.
UW-Eau Claire moved up two spots from No. 4 to No. 2 and displaced UW-Oshkosh and North Central (Ill.) behind senior thrower Alex Mess and two junior distance runners (Nick Petersson and Josh Thorson). Mess is now ranked fifth in the weight throw, while Petersson and Thorson climbed their way up the leaderboard in the mile.
St. Olaf and UW-Whitewater each jumped multiple spots as well. The Lions went from No. 7 to No. 5 thanks to their squadron of distance runners (Jake Campbell, Joe Coffey and Paul Escher). Sophomore sprinter Parker Witt (fifth in the 60) and sophomore high jumper Robert Starnes (tied for third) pushed the Warhawks into the top-10 once again (No. 11 to No. 8).
St. John Fisher, out of the Empire 8 Athletic Conference, makes its first appearance in the top-10 in program history. The Cardinals moved up three spots from its preseason billing thanks to sophomore Mark Vanmarter in the long jump (third on the NDOL based off his leap last weekend) and senior Kyle Koehler in the shot put (fourth on the NDOL).
Other teams to make big jumps in the rankings include UW-Platteville (No. 24 to No. 14) and Wesley (No. 29 to No. 18). This is the Pioneers’ best ranking since 2013 when they hovered around the top-10 all season.

Women’s Breakdown

From top-ranked MIT to No. 9 Johns Hopkins, there weren’t any changes from the preseason rankings.
But after the Blue Jays is where the fun begins.
St. Lawrence, out of the Liberty League, jumped 10 spots from No. 20 to No. 10 behind senior Marisa Turner’s climb up the NDOL in the high jump. Turner is now ranked fourth in the event after her leap of 1.70m (5-7) two weeks ago. This is the Saints’ sixth time in the top-10 in program history.
UW-Eau Claire and Washington (Mo.) each rose two spots in the rankings. The Blugolds went from No. 13 to No. 11 after junior Sarah Glidden captured the second spot on the NDOL in the high jump. The Bears have sophomore mid-distance runner Emily Warner to thank after she jumped up to fifth in the 800 (2:13.39).
Other programs with notable increases include Buffalo State (No. 23 to No. 16), Nebraska Wesleyan (No. 21 to No. 17) and Middlebury (No. 30 to No. 25). This is Nebraska Wesleyan’s highest ranking since 2011 (15th).

Dual Meet Rankings

The first dual meet rankings of the season also came out and the MIT men and Ithaca College women are leading the way.
In the men’s rankings, MIT is one of three programs from New England in the top-3. The Engineers have 159.53 points, followed by Williams with 143.93 and Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with 133.75.
Over in the women’s rankings, Ithaca College (151.22) topped Williams (137.90) as well as MIT (137.28).
Here is an explanation on how these points are tallied. You can find the rankings here.

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III
Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)
2016 Week #1 — January 26
next ranking: February 2

Rank	Institution	Points	Conference	Head Coach (Yr)	Last Week
1	UW-La Crosse	169.74	WIAC	Josh Buchholtz (8th)	1
2	UW-Eau Claire	114.79	WIAC	Chip Schneider (14th)	4
3	UW-Oshkosh	100.76	WIAC	Ben Dorsey (1st)	2
4	North Central (Ill.)	97.30	CCIW	Frank Gramarosso (6th)	3
5	St. Olaf	90.15	MIAC	Phil Lundin (8th)	7
6	Monmouth (Ill.)	77.64	Midwest	Roger Haynes (33rd)	9
7	Mount Union	76.97	OAC	Kevin Lucas (6th)	5
8	UW-Whitewater	76.17	WIAC	Mike Johnson (7th)	11
9	Williams	69.09	NESCAC	Ethan Barron (1st)	6
10	Saint John Fisher	57.64	Empire 8	Mike Henchen (4th)	13
11	UW-Stevens Point	52.14	WIAC	Rick Witt (37th)	10
12	Ramapo	51.31	NJAC	Mike Jackson (12th)	12
13	Rhode Island College	44.93	Little East	Kevin Jackson (15th)	14
14	UW-Platteville	44.30	WIAC	Chris Rotzenberg (4th)	24
15	Tufts	43.10	NESCAC	Joel Williams (1st)	17
16	Haverford	42.59	Centennial	Tom Donnelly (41st)	16
17	Salisbury	39.98	CAC	Jim Jones (17th)	19
18	Wesley	38.18	CAC	Stephen Kimes (4th)	29
19	Widener	37.89	Middle Atlantic	Vince Touey (29th)	15
20	Nazareth	37.31	Empire 8	James Goss (6th)	20
21	Central (Iowa)	36.58	IIAC	Joe Dunham (8th)	18
22	Augustana (Ill.)	36.02	CCIW	Paul Olsen (47th)	22
23	Ohio Wesleyan	35.59	NCAC	Kris Boey (14th)	23
24	Baldwin Wallace	35.27	OAC	Matthew Cole (1st)	25
25	Delaware Valley	34.11	Middle Atlantic	Larry Hannon (4th)	21

View All Teams Beyond the Top 25

Men’s Conference Index Top 10
Rank	Conference	Points	Top 25 Teams
1	WIAC	587.72	6
2	NESCAC	190.04	2
3	CCIW	160.83	2
4	SUNYAC	142.24
5	OAC	135.32	2
6	MIAC	131.13	1
7	NJAC	116.09	1
8	Middle Atlantic	113.01	2
9	Midwest Conference	107.30	1
10	Empire 8	103.61	2

Men’s Regional Index Leaders
Region	Institution	Points	Last Week
Atlantic	SUNY Cortland	271.91
Central	Nebraska Wesleyan	331.12
Great Lakes	Mount Union	234.93
Mideast	Widener	193.27
Midwest	North Central (Ill.)	369.24
New England	MIT	399.00
South/Southeast	Christopher Newport	524.76
West	Whitworth	491.14
View All Regional Rankings

USTFCCCA NCAA Division III
Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)
2016 Week #1 — January 26
next ranking: February 2

Rank	Institution	Points	Conference	Head Coach (Yr)	Last Week
1	MIT	178.98	NEWMAC	Halston Taylor (9th)	1
2	Illinois Wesleyan	136.63	CCIW	Chris Schumacher (19th)	2
3	UW-La Crosse	133.51	WIAC	Pat Healy (25th)	3
4	UW-Oshkosh	98.22	WIAC	Ben Dorsey (4th)	4
5	Baldwin Wallace	85.16	OAC	Matthew Cole (1st)	5
6	Lehman	78.83	CUNYAC	Pete Charles (4th)	6
7	Stevens	70.01	Empire 8	Justin Wood (4th)	7
8	Chicago	66.46	UAA	Chris Hall (15th)	8
9	Johns Hopkins	60.61	Centennial	Bobby Van Allen (17th)	9
10	St. Lawrence	58.61	Liberty League	Kate Curran (8th)	20
11	UW-Eau Claire	55.46	WIAC	Chip Schneider (10th)	13
12	Central (Iowa)	52.32	IIAC	Joe Dunham (8th)	10
13	Washington (Mo.)	52.30	UAA	Jeff Stiles (15th)	16
14	UW-Platteville	49.54	WIAC	Chris Rotzenberg (4th)	12
15	Ithaca	48.07	Empire 8	Jennifer Potter (13th)	11
16	Buffalo State	45.84	SUNYAC	Eugene Lewis (16th)	23
17	Nebraska Wesleyan	45.42	Great Plains	Ted Bulling (29th)	21
18	UW-Stout	44.92	WIAC	Kyle Steiner (3rd)	15
19	Williams	43.85	NESCAC	Nate Hoey (3rd)	17
20	SUNY Oneonta	42.99	SUNYAC	Angelo Posillico (3rd)	24
21	Cornell College	42.77	Midwest	Dan Schofer (4th)	19
22	Eastern Mennonite	41.04	ODAC	Jason Lewkowicz (5th)	18
23	Misericordia	39.27	Middle Atlantic	Chris Wadas (10th)	27
24	Amherst	37.42	NESCAC	Cassie Funke-Harris (4th)	22
25	Middlebury	37.05	NESCAC	Martin Beatty (28th)	30

View All Teams Beyond the Top 25

Women’s Conference Index Top 10
Rank	Conference	Points	Top 25 Teams
1	WIAC	407.15	5
2	NESCAC	218.63	3
3	NEWMAC	204.87	1
4	CCIW	192.65	1
5	OAC	190.54	1
6	SUNYAC	155.64	2
7	Empire 8	139.48	2
8	UAA	126.05	2
9	IIAC	102.36	1
10	Centennial	95.39	1

Women’s Regional Index Leaders
Region	Institution	Points	Last Week
Atlantic	SUNY Cortland	312.57
Central	Nebraska Wesleyan	455.45
Great Lakes	Mount Union	291.43
Mideast	Johns Hopkins	301.45
Midwest	Washington (Mo.)	291.69
New England	Williams	396.15
South/Southeast	Emory	616.16
West	Whitworth	537.86
View All Regional Rankings