2021 NCAA DII Men's Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 3
NEW ORLEANS – The latest installment of the NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Rating Index, as released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Tuesday, continues to evolve as the outdoor season presses on. Four teams among the top-25 kept their placement from a week ago.
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Grand Valley State is back at No. 1 for the second time this season, jumping ahead of No. 2 Angelo State, who was idle this past weekend. The Lakers added 3 new or improved nationally ranked performances to their haul: Enael Woldemichael in the 10,000 (No. 4, 29:12.99); Connor Schwartz in the steeplechase (No. 7, 9:05.08); Hunter Harding in the hammer throw (No. 8, 63.86m/209-6). Grand Valley State’s 4×100 opened up the season in 40.86 for the No. 10 time.
No. 3 West Texas A&M was the only top-5 team to remain unchanged. The Buffalos earned two more nationally ranked performances over the weekend. The 4×100 relay clocked the No. 2 time in their season debut (40.10c/39.98A) and Ezekiel Kipchirchir ran the eighth fastest time in the 10,000 (29:30.77).
Moving up one spot to No. 4 is Pittsburg State. The Gorillas earned several new or improved top-10 nationally ranked season bests at the 13th Annual David Suenram Gorilla Classic. Brett Thompson and Joshua Hudiburg hit new PRs in the javelin that continue to have them ranked No. 1 (76.65m/251-6) and No. 4 (69.17m/226-11), respectively. Other improved marks in the field events came from Konner Swenson in the discus (No. 5, 55.01m/180-6), Cameron Wright in the pole vault (No. 6, 5.14m/16-10¼) and Levi Wyrick in the hammer throw (No. 9, 62.72m/205-9). The Gorillas also have a pair of ranked relays with the 4×400 (No. 2, 3:12.63) and 4×100 (No. 8, 40.78)
Rounding out the top-5 is Ashland. The Eagles notched four new or improved season best efforts that rank among the top-6 nationally. New performances came from Trevor Bassitt (No. 1, 20.52) and Keshun Jones (No. 4, 21.07) in the 200 at the Flames Invitational. In the hammer throw, Alex Hill (No. 2, 67.78m/222-5) and Brent Fairbanks (No. 7, 63.93m/209-9) turned in PRs at the Walsh Invitational.
Here are the rest of the top-10 teams in Week 3: No. 6 Texas A&M-Commerce, No. 7 Adams State, No. 8 Missouri Southern, No. 9 Central Missouri and No. 10 UC-Colorado Springs.
Elsewhere in the National TFRI, No. 14 Colorado School of Mines jumped up 12 spots from No. 26 a week ago. No. 24 Azusa Pacific is making its first appearance in the top-25 this season after previously receiving votes.
The 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set for May 27-29 in Allendale, Michigan, hosted by Grand Valley State.
