Ashland Finishes Sixth at NCAA D-II Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Charlotte, N.C. - The Ashland University men’s track and field team finished the 2010 NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships tied for sixth in the country. This year’s national championship meet concluded on Saturday night (May 29) after storms in Charlotte, NC, forced officials to re-work the meet schedule. Much of Friday’s schedule was pushed to Saturday due to the inclement weather.

AU and Cal State-Los Angeles shared sixth place with 33 points each.  St. Augustine’s won the team title with 82 points.  Abilene Christian (62) was the runnerup and Central Missouri (39) rounded out the top three teams.  Adams State (37) was fourth and Lincoln (34) was fifth.

Ashland lead a contingent of seven Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) teams that scored points at the Championship.  Hillsdale College  placed 13th with 19 points, the University of Findlay finished 15th with 16 points,  Grand Valley State University placed 23rd with 11 points, Lake Sperior State University tied for 27th with 10 points, Saginaw Valley State University finished tied for 38th with six points, while Tiffin University tied for 46th with five points.

Team recaps are below:

Ashland: 

The Ashland men posted a pair of third-place finishes on Saturday. In the shot put, Kurt Roberts claimed the bronze medal.  A two-time national champ in the event, Roberts took the third spot with a throw of 58 feet, 11.25 inches.  Nebraska-Kearney’s Dane Tobey (62-07.25) was the national champ and Grand Valley State’s Matt Armstrong (59-02.75) was second.  AU’s D.J. Duke (58-09.25) was fifth.

Ashland’s 4X4 relay placed third in 3:07.13.  That quartet consisted of Nick Bellanco, Edwin Smith, Cory Lamar and Joe Horn.  St. Augustine’s was first across the finish line in 3:04.95.  Angelo State was the runnerup in 3:06.44.

In the discus, Blaine Maag was sixth.  His best throw measured 169-08.

Hillsdale: 

Senior hammer throwers  Jason Stomps and Aaron Falk were both All-Americans in the weight throw during indoor season. Thursday afternoon, they duplicated that effort in the outdoor version of that event, the hammer throw. Stomps placed second, while Falk took fourth for the Chargers. It was the final career meet for these two hammer throwers, who were the best teammates in the event in the nation throughout this school year.

Senior Jared Krout earned an amazing ninth career All-American honor Thursday as well, finishing in third place in the long jump with a school-record leap of 25 feet, 2 3/4 inches. Krout has been a dominant performer in sprint events as well as the long jump throughout his career, and capped off his career in fine fashion. He will go down as one of the most-decorated athletes in the star-studded history of Hillsdale College track and field.

Findlay:  

Derrick Vicars recorded a first place finish in the discus for Oilers track and field squad as the men’s and women’s teams wrapped up the 2010 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championship on Saturday, May 29 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Vicars took home the national championship in the discus after a heave of 173’01. His top finish is only the second ever for the outdoor team as former standout Kendall Stevens won the 100-meter dash in 2006.

Lyndon Johnson was named All-American in three events as he finished sixth in the 200-meter (21.28), seventh in the 100-meter (10.69) and teamed with Greg Schaible, Curtis Smithey and Simon Bernard to place eighth in the 4x400-meter relay at 3:11.50 to set a new school record.

Cody Crockett took 12th in the javelin after a toss of 184’01 while Vicars was 12th in the shot put at 54’04.75.

Grand Valley State:  

Matt Armstrong set a new GVSU record in the shot put with a throw of 59'2.75", scoring the Lakers eight points. Senior Ian Evans finished ninth (56'1.75"), followed by freshman Donny Stiffler in 13th (54'1").

In the running events, Tyler Emmorey broke his previous school record with a sixth place finish and a time of 8:55.42, scoring three points for the Lakers. Freshman John Dyer crossed the finish line 13th in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.56.

Lake Superior State:

Junior Jonathon Allen (Lansing, Mich.) became Lake Superior State's first track and field national champion by winning the triple jump Saturday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships held at Johnson C. Smith University.

Allen completed six clean jumps at distances of 15.49, 15.66, 16.27, 15.57, 15.85 and 15.99. His second-best attempt would have also won the title.

In March, Allen earned All-America status by placing fourth in the triple jump at the NCAA DII Indoor Nationals.

Saginaw Valley State:  

Senior Tony Filipek (Caro, Mich./Kingston HS) was the only member of the SVSU men's track and field team that was able to compete at the NCAA DII Championships.  Filipek competed in the 800-meter run on Saturday (May 29) earning a third place finish, clocking in at 1:49.38, breaking the previous school record.  This third place finish gives Filipek All-American honors for the 2010 outdoor season.

Tiffin:

Senior Ramone Brant (Columbus, Ohio) earned All-America status for the Dragons by placing fifth in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.34.