The North Dakota State men's track & field team has achieved its best national ranking in the program's Division I history, reaching No. 15 in the USTFCCCA national rankings this week.
NDSU's national ranking is based on the potential for team points at the NCAA Indoor Championships, to be held March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala.
The Bison currently have five performances that rank among the top 25 in the NCAA this season, led by senior
Payton Otterdahl, who ranks first in the nation in both the shot put and weight throw. Sophomore
Alex Talley stands 15th in the NCAA in the shot put and 17th in the weight throw, and freshman
Kristoffer Thomsen is No. 24 on the national list in the shot.
NDSU has four event groups that are receiving recognition in the USTFCCCA's Event Squad Rankings, which average the best performances from the top four athletes at each school in each event. The Bison men are ranked first nationally in both the shot put and weight throw, as well as standing second in the heptathlon and 11th in the long jump.
In the shot put, Otterdahl, Talley, Thomsen and
Michael Keogan are tops in the NCAA with their average of 63-11 (19.48m). The Bison hold their No. 1 ranking by a substantial margin of more than five feet.
NDSU's top performers in the weight throw (Otterdahl, Talley,
Trevor Otterdahl and Keogan) combine to average 68-08.75 (20.94m) this season – another NCAA-leading mark. The Bison men lead second-place Minnesota by nearly three feet.
The Bison heptathletes rank second in the event squad rankings, with
Ryan Enerson,
Ben Klimpke,
Tyler Enerson and
Daniel Asa averaging 4,904 points.
Klimpke,
Kelle'Mon Hinton,
Marcus Walton and
Eric VanErp have NDSU at No. 11 in the long jump rankings, averaging a best mark of 23-07.50 (7.20m) this year.
USTFCCCA National Rankings – Men
1. Texas Tech
2. Florida State
3. Florida
4. Houston
5. LSU
6. Georgia
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Alabama
10. Stanford
11. USC
12. Indiana
13. BYU
14. Colorado
15. North Dakota State
16. Kansas
17. Wisconsin
18. Kansas State
19. Oregon
20. Penn State
