2021 NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field Rating Index – Week 5

NEW ORLEANS – Conference championship weekend has stirred up the recent edition of the 2021 NAIA Men’s Indoor Track & Field National TFRI released Wednesday afternoon by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Only five teams maintained their rankings from a week ago.
Only five teams have
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No. 1 Indiana Tech, No. 2 Dordt (Iowa), No. 3 Doane (Neb.), No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan and No. 5 Saint Mary (Kan.) reside in the top-5. The Wildcats are the lone change in the top-5, as they improved three spots from its No. 7.
Indiana Wesleyan earned six new or improved marks that rank in the top-5 nationally. Landon Miller in the mile (No. 1, 4:08.42c/4:11.59) and the 5000 (14:18.08/14:27.27); Steven Ott in the 1000 (No. 3, 2:27.42c/2:29.45) and 800 (No. 4, 1:53.35c/1:54.97); Scott Rathbun in the pole vault (No. 3, 4.90m/16-¾); Charlie Young in the 600 (No. 4, 1:19.93c/1:21.13).
Three teams made jumps into the top-10: No. 8 Oklahoma City (up 13 spots), No. 9 Bethel (Kan.) (up 5 spots) and No. 10 Marian (Ind.) (up 6 spots).
The Stars improved upon season bests in the 5000: Zouhair Talbi is No. 3 (14:24.50/14:37.90A) and Shimales Abebe is No. 6 (14:38.09/14:51.70A) following their outing at the South Plains College Indoor Invite #2 and additional results from this weekend.
The ninth-ranked Threshers earned a boost thanks to three marks that sit within the top-2 nationally at the KCAC Championships. Kemroy Cupid is now the national leader in both the 60 (6.73) and 200 (21.42c/21.80), while Austin Cheatham improved to No. 2 in the shot put (17.43m/57-2¼).
For the Knights, the Crossroads champions turned in numerous marks to improve their national standing, including the top ranked 4×800 that clocked 7:39.86c (7:46.43). Howard Hendricks improved upon his season best in the 800 (No. 6, 1:54.34c/1:55:97), while Drew Thornton turned in a new performance in the 600 (No. 9, 1:21.01c/1:22.22).
The biggest mover in the top-25 this week is No. 18 Grace (Ind.) with a 25 spot jump after. The Lancers saw two athletes and two relays hit improved nationally ranked marks that sit within the top-10 from the Crossroads League Championships: Kyle Smith in the 600 (No. 7, 1:20.92c/1:22.13) and John Green in the 200 (No. 9, 21.70c/22.08). The 4×800 is ranked No. 2 and the Distance Medley relay is ranked No. 4 on the Descending Order List.
The 2021 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled for March 4-6 in Yankton, South Dakota.