Nebraska Wins Its First-Ever Title
compiled by Jesse Squire
(May 02, 2017)
Nebraska won its first official men’s dual meet national championship with a perfect 15-0 record, including a pair of wins over #2 Texas Tech.
The T&FN definition of a dual meet is “a scored meet among 4 or fewer teams”, and Gary Pepin’s Huskers ran through 5 quadrangulars. That’s virtually unheard of among “Power 5” conference teams in the 21st century, but Pepin has led the Nebraska program since 1980.
Nebraska’s win is also the first official dual meet championship in Big 10 history (the last unofficial win would have been by one of Harry Gill’s Illinois teams in the 1920s).
“This has been a men’s team that in some ways has had to really lean on people to do extra duties and maybe pick up some other events because we’ve been hit so hard with injuries,” says Pepin. “They’ve worked really hard and we hope to continue to grow this season and stay healthy so we can do well. It’s a lot of fun to have a full team, and in dual meets everybody that goes to the meet is important. It’s not like Nationals or Re-gionals where some of your team doesn’t get to compete. Everybody you take has an opportunity to contribute and be a part of the team.”
Midwestern teams accounted for 6 of the top 10, and for the first time ever there were no Western teams in the top 10.
To be ranked, a team must compete in one or more dual meets (defined as a scored meet between four or fewer teams). Teams are ranked on wins and losses, marks, and strength and depth of dual meet schedule. Teams are rewarded for taking dual meet competition seriously.
The Complete Men’s National Rankings
Rank | Team | Record | Last Week |
1 | Nebraska | (15-0) | 1 |
2 | Texas Tech | (4-2) | 3 |
3 | Texas A&M | (2-0) | 2 |
4 | Kansas | (5-0) | 4 |
5 | LSU | (2-0-1) | 5 |
6 | Penn State | (2-1) | 6 |
7 | Purdue | (2-2-1) | 7 |
8 | Indiana | (2-1) | 11 |
9 | Illinois | (2-0) | 9 |
10 | Iowa | (4-1) | 10 |
11 | UCLA | (1-1) | 17 |
12 | Michigan | (2-0) | 8 |
13 | USC | (0-4) | 12 |
14 | Akron | (4-0) | 15 |
15 | Houston | (3-2) | 13 |
16 | Florida State | (2-1) | 20 |
17 | Colorado State | (3-0) | 18 |
18 | Air Force | (3-0) | 14 |
19 | Virginia | (3-0) | 22 |
20 | Washington | (1-0) | 23 |
21 | Minnesota | (1-0) | 19 |
22 | Long Beach State | (6-1) | 16 |
23 | Arizona | (1-0) | 21 |
24 | Southern Illinois | (3-1) | 24 |
25 | Cal | (2-2) | 25 |
Regional Rankings
Midwest | Northeast | ||||
1 | Nebraska | (15-0) | 1 | Penn State | (2-1) |
2 | Kansas | (5-0) | 2 | Princeton | (3-0) |
3 | Purdue | (2-2-1) | 3 | Navy | (4-2) |
4 | Indiana | (2-1) | 4 | Penn | (3-0) |
5 | Illinois | (2-0) | 5 | Dartmouth | (10-0) |
6 | Iowa | (4-1) | 6 | Harvard | (2-1) |
7 | Michigan | (2-0) | 7 | Army | (1-1) |
8 | Akron | (4-0) | 8 | Yale | (1-4) |
9 | Minnesota | (1-0) | 9 | Northeastern | (3-0) |
10 | Southern Illinois | (3-1) | 10 | Maryland | (1-2) |
11 | Wisconsin | (1-1) | 11 | Monmouth | (2-1) |
12 | Oklahoma | (1-2) | 12 | Lehigh | (3-2) |
13 | Kent State | (4-2) | 13 | Columbia | (0-5) |
14 | Kansas State | (1-1) | 14 | Brown | (1-2) |
15 | Wichita State | (4-7) | 15 | Rider | (1-0) |
16 | Ashland | (1-2) | 16 | Maine | (6-3-1) |
17 | UMKC | (2-4) | 17 | UMass Lowell | (2-1) |
18 | North Dakota State | (2-4) | 18 | Vermont | (7-5) |
19 | South Dakota | (1-0) | 19 | Lafayette | (0-1) |
20 | Iowa State | (1-2) | 20 | New Hampshire | (2-4) |
21 | Northern Iowa | (2-7) | |||
22 | Missouri | (1-4) | |||
23 | Eastern Michigan | (1-1) | |||
24 | Youngstown State | (0-3) | |||
25 | Indiana State | (4-0) |
South | West | ||||
1 | Texas Tech | (4-2) | 1 | UCLA | (1-1) |
2 | Texas A&M | (2-0) | 2 | USC | (0-4) |
3 | LSU | (2-0-1) | 3 | Colorado Stte | (3-0) |
4 | Houston | (3-2) | 4 | Air Force | (3-0) |
5 | Florida State | (2-1) | 5 | Washington | (1-0) |
6 | Virginia | (3-0) | 6 | Long Beach State | (6-1) |
7 | Tennessee | (0-1) | 7 | Arizona | (1-0) |
8 | SE Louisiana | (2-0) | 8 | California | (2-2) |
9 | Baylor | (0-3) | 9 | Montana State | (10-0) |
10 | Duke | (3-1-1) | 10 | Utah State | (2-1) |
11 | North Carolina | (2-2-1) | 11 | Washington State | (0-1) |
12 | Stephen F. Austin | (0-3) | 12 | Stanford | (0-1) |
13 | Angelo State | (2-0) | 13 | Arizona State | (0-1) |
14 | South Alabama | (3-0) | 14 | Wyoming | (2-2) |
15 | TCU | (0-2) | 15 | Colorado | (1-2) |
16 | Texas State | (0-3) | 16 | Sac State | (2-0) |
17 | TAMU-Kingsville | (1-1) | 17 | Cal State Fullerton | (3-2) |
18 | East Carolina | (1-2) | 18 | Cal State Northridge | (0-1) |
19 | Troy | (2-1) | 19 | Weber State | (1-1) |
20 | NC State | (0-3) | 20 | Adams State | (1-0) |
21 | West Texas A&M | (0-1) | 21 | UC Davis | (3-1) |
22 | UNC-Wilmington | (1-0) | 22 | Cal Poly | (1-0) |
23 | Coastal Carolina | (0-1) | 23 | UCSB | (3-3) |
24 | Tulane | (1-1) | 24 | Idaho State | (1-4) |
25 | VMI | (1-0) | 25 | Montana | (2-5) |
Stat Corner
No men’s Dual Meet Records were established this year, but the all-time list in the 400 had three new additions.
Dual Meet Men’s 400 All-Time List | ||||
44.43 | Quincy Watts (USC) | UCLA vs USC | 1992 | |
44.73 | Willie Smith (Auburn) | Auburn at Alabama | 1978 | |
44.74 | Brandon Couts (Baylor) | Baylor at Houston | 2000 | |
45.01 | Steven Champlin (Texas Tech) | Nebraska, Baylor & Wichita State @ Texas Tech | 2017 | |
45.03 | Billly Mullins (USC) | UCLA vs USC | 1978 | |
45.04 | Lionel Larry (USC) | USC at UCLA | 2008 | |
45.06 | Kyle Collins (Texas Tech) | Nebraska, Baylor & Wichita State @ Texas Tech | 2017 | |
45.12 | Darrol Gatson (Alabama) | Auburn @ Alabama | 1978 | |
45.19 | Jerome Davis (USC) | USC & BYU @ UCLA | 1998 | |
45.22 | Michael Norman (USC) | UCLA @ USC | 2017 | |
hand timing (* = 440y less 0.3 seconds) | ||||
44.7* | Benny Brown (UCLA) | USC @ UCLA | 1973 | |
44.8* | Ken Randle (USC) | UCLA vs USC | 1975 | |
44.9* | — Brown | UCLA vs USC | 1975 | |
44.9* | Larry James (Villanova) | Villanova @ Tennessee | 1968 | |
45.0* | John Smith (UCLA) | UCLA vs USC | 1972 |