Titans No. 1 In Preseason National Track & Field Rating Index
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named UW-Oshkosh its preseason choice to capture the 2019 NCAA Division III men's indoor track & field title.
UW-Oshkosh, which shared the Division III title in 2009 and finished second at the national meet in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2013, earned its top listing through a preseason grading system conducted by the USTFCCCA. The Titans' last appearance as the national No. 1 indoor team was Week 3 of the 2013 season.
The USTFCCCA's National Rating Index primarily bases its preseason rankings off of previous seasons' results from the top returning athletes and how each athlete ranks compared to other returning individuals nationally. The first regular season ranking is scheduled for release on Jan. 22.
UW-Oshkosh began its 2019 indoor season with a pair of meets in December. The Titans won the six-team UW-Oshkosh Early Bird Invitational on Dec. 1 and competed at the non-scoring Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) Holiday Invitational on Dec. 7.
UW-Oshkosh resumes its season Friday (Jan. 18) in Kolf Sports Center and will compete in a series of meets before participating at the WIAC Championship on Feb. 22-23 in Whitewater and the NCAA Division III Championship on March 8-9 in Boston, Mass.
The Titans return 21 letter winners from last year's team that is attempting to improve upon their sixth-place showing at the WIAC Championship. UW-Oshkosh went on to finish 28th at the Division III Championship with nine points, marking the program's 20th straight national indoor meet with at least five points scored.
UW-Oshkosh totaled 163.22 points to lead the USTFCCCA's 2019 National Preseason Rating Index. The Titans were followed by second-ranked North Central College (Ill.) with 159.48 points, third-ranked and defending national champion University of Mount Union (Ohio) with 115.63, fourth-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology with 110.51 and fifth-ranked Christopher Newport University (Va.) with 90.03.
Completing the list of top 10 teams were sixth-ranked University of Dubuque (Iowa) with 81.17, seventh-ranked UW-La Crosse with 76.91, eighth-ranked UW-Stevens Point with 60.95, ninth-ranked UW-Whitewater with 60.89 and Haverford College (Pa.) with 59.23.
Seventeen Titans were rated in the index, including top-ranked Ryan Powers in the 200-meter dash (21.45) and Justin Skinkis in the 800-meter run (1:50.33). Powers was also the seventh-ranked mention in the 400-meter run (48.19).
UW-Oshkosh's Christian Lopez was listed twice, ninth in the 60-meter dash (6.92) and 18th in the 200-meter dash (21.91).
The Titans also had Roman Hill rank second in the long jump (24-3 1/2), Erik Schwandt third in the 60-meter dash (6.82), Jonathan Wilburn fourth in the triple jump (47-7 3/4), John Auer sixth in the long jump (23-7 1/4), Joe Vils seventh in the pole vault (15-11 3/4), Jamyle Brantley 10th in the long jump (23-5 1/4), Justin Rivers 10th in the high jump (6-9), Steven Potter 12th in the 800-meter run (1:52.03), Benjamin Jung 14th in the long jump (23-5) and Bailey Quinn 14th in the 35-pound weight throw (58-1 3/4).
Schwandt won the WIAC 60-meter dash title as a last season before placing fifth in the event at the Division III Championship. Schwandt established a school record with his time of 6.82 seconds during the 60-meter dash preliminaries at the national meet.
Powers collected his second indoor All-America award in the 400-meter run with his sixth-place finish at last year's Division III Championship. He also placed sixth in the 400-meter run at the 2016 national meet and third in the 200-meter dash at last season's WIAC Championship.
Vils placed 13th in the pole vault at the Division III Championship a year ago.
2019 USTFCCCA Preseason NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field Rating Index