Central 10th in national rankings

Central College

PELLA—The Central College men’s track and field squad retained a top-10 spot in the first week of the NCAA Division III power rankings.

The Dutch slipped one spot to No. 10 in rankings produced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association after being ranked ninth in the preseason.

Teams are scored using a points system that objectively measures the top performances across the country in each event. The rankings for the first three weeks will rely on performances from the previous season in addition to recent performances.

Defending national champion North Central (Ill.) retained the top spot from the preseason rankings while Iowa Conference rival Wartburg is No. 12.

The Central men are coming off a banner indoor season. The Dutch captured their second consecutive Iowa Conference title in addition to nabbing runner-up honors at the NCAA Division III Championships.

Central will open their 2012 campaign Friday in Pella at the Dutch Athletics Classic.

USTFCCCA Division III power rankings

Rank School Points Last Week

1 North Central (Ill.) 192.73 1
2 Wis-La Crosse 150.67 2
3 WIs-Oshkosh 123.04 3
4 McMurry (Texas) 79.29 5
5 Wis.-Whitewater 77.88 7
6 Amherst (Mass.) 73.00 4
7 SUNY Geneseo 65.18 6
8 St. Thomas (Minn.) 57.16 12
9 Wabash (Ind.) 56.67 8
10 Central (Iowa) 52.42 9
11 MIT 51.09 10
12 Wartburg 47.73 11
13 Wis.-Eau Claire 42.45 14
14 Bates (Maine) 42.05 20
15 Methodist (N.C.) 40.13 16
16 Haverford (Pa.) 37.44 15
17 Tufts (Mass.) 37.15 38
18 Nebraska Wesleyan 36.91 22
19 Wis.-Platteville 35.76 19
20 Rose-Hulman (Ind.) 31.81 23
21 Hamline (Minn.) 31.77 13
22 Wis.-Stevens Point 31.67 17
23 Springfield (Mass.) 31.12 18
24 Calvin (Mich.) 30.65 27
25 NYU 30.45 21