HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's indoor track and field team leaped seven spots to take the No. 11 ranking in the third weekly Division III Men's Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Haverford checks in with its highest overall national ranking since the squad was ranked 10th in the fifth week of the 2015-16 indoor campaign. The team's highest national ranking in the computer-rank era came during the 2010-11 season when the Fords were slotted third in the nation during the second week of the season. Haverford finished ninth at the 2012-13 indoor national championships.
In addition to the No. 11 national ranking, the Fords own the top spot in the Mideast Region, just under four points ahead of Stevenson. Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and Penn State Harrisburg round out the top five entrants in the region.
Last week at the Cupid Challenge at Tufts, the Fords received another great outing from junior Dylan Gearinger, who is now ranked second overall on the NCAA Indoor Qualifying List in the 5,000 meter and first in the NCAA Indoor Qualifying List in the 3,000 meter. Gearinger followed his dominating 3,000 meter mark at last week's Seamus McElligott Invitational by winning the 5,000 meter race at Tufts with a time of 14:29.56. The mark is the fifth-fastest individual mark in Haverford indoor history. Gearinger picked up his second straight Centennial Conference Track Athlete of the Week honor on Monday.
The rankings jump can be attributed to Haverford's stellar distance performances with Gearinger (3,000m and 5,000m), Graham Peet (5,000m), Greg Morgan (3,000m and mile) and Henry Woods (3,000m) each posting top times that all score within the top 15 marks nationally thus far in the 2017-18 indoor campaign.
North Central (Ill.), Wisconsin-Lacrosse, MIT, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Benedictine (Ill.), Christopher Newport, Rowan, Mount Union, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Dubuque compose the top 10 nationally.
Haverford had the biggest points jump amongst all Top 25 entrants, climbing 28.43 points while SUNY Geneseo and Tufts both vaulted into the Top 25 in the latest release.
Men's indoor track & field returns to action on Friday, February 9 at the NYU Invitational in New York City. The action is slated to get underway at 2 p.m at the Armory in Washington Heights.