Conference

Huston had basically wrapped up the heptathlon after the javelin as she had over a 500-point lead. She tried to conserve energy in the 800 of the heptathlon as she finished eighth with a time of 2:23.97, because the 100 hurdles prelims were scheduled just minutes after the heptathlon 800.

Not even getting a chance to celebrate her heptathlon, Huston went straight to and finished last in the 100 hurdles prelims with a time of 15.18. She had come into the hurdles as one of the favorites with a qualifying time of 14.28.

Huston won the heptathlon long jump and scored 729 points and finished second in the heptathlon javelin throw and scored 639 points. She added 770 points in the 800-meters, finishing 10^th. Her 5,242 total is the second-highest ever recorded by a Division III athlete.

Dacy Ivy had a great day and improved from 20^th place to 13^th place in the heptathlon. The junior scored 805 points and finished third in the 800 scored 491 in the javelin and 479 in the long jump.

Huston will compete in the high jump on Saturday beginning at 1:30 CST

McMurry

Men in Sixth Place

The defending national champion McMurry men’s outdoor track and field team didn’t score any team points on Friday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but track star Hann Ollison did run the fastest time in the preliminary round of the 400-meter dash to qualify for Saturday’s final.

While the McMurry men didn’t score any points on Friday, they are positioned to achieve points on Saturday (the final day of the Championships) as Zach Shew will be competing in the high jump and Ollison will be competing in the 400-meter dash finals as well as the 200-meter dash finals. 

Ollison, who is the defending national champion in the 400-meter dash, ran a Don Drumm Stadium record 47.57 on Friday to qualify for the finals on Saturday.  The only other McMurry men’s track and field athlete to compete on Saturday was Gavan Bass, who ran an 11.06 in the 100-meter dash to barley miss qualifying for the 100-meter final on Saturday.  Bass did, however, have a fantastic performance for McMurry at the Outdoor Championships as he earned all-American status in the long jump on Thursday by virtue of placing second in the event. 

After day two of the Championships, Wisconsin-Oshkosh is in first place with 24 points, followed by Wisconsin-Whitewater with 20 points and Linfield with 18.  Cortland State is in fourth with 16 points and Trinity (Texas) is in fifth with 15 points, just ahead of McMurry and Wisconsin-La Crosse who each respectively have 14 points after day two.  

The McMurry women were also unable to score any more points on Friday.  Alexa Roman ran a preliminary-round 14.97 in the 100-meter hurdles, which nearly missed her from advancing to Saturday’s finals; Quenisha Franklin was unable to advance to the finals of the 100-meter dash as she ran a 12.52 in the preliminary round; and Holly Rollins, who was the national champion in the pole vault last year with a vault of  12-10¼ but had knee surgery in the offseason, finished 12th in the pole vault on Friday with an effort of 11-10½.

Breana Anderson-Burton, who scored the McMurry women’s lone team point on Thursday by virtue of an eighth-place finish in the long jump, will be the only McMurry women track athlete to compete on Saturday as she will compete in the triple jump.

Mississippi College

Coming Soon...

Texas-Tyler

Donnan's Season Comes to a Close

Senior Ben Donnan of The University Texas at Tyler men’s track & field team posted a time of 1:53.28 in the 800 meter time trails at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday at Marietta College’s Don Drumm Stadium, but failed to qualify for Saturday’s final.

Donnan led for the majority of the race, but was unable to hold off the pack down the stretch. The 800 meter defending National Champion, Emmanuel Bofa of Whitworth, won the heat with a time of 1:50.71 and set a new stadium record in the process.

Donnan’s national championship appearance on Friday was the first-ever for a UT Tyler track & field athlete. The Paris-native will end his career as a Patriot having competed in the cross country national championship in both 2007 and 2008 and in this year’s track & field national championship.

Texas Lutheran

Jackson Rolls Into 400-Meter Final

Texas Lutheran senior sprinter Staci Jackson won her heat of the 400 meter dash Friday and takes the fastest preliminary time into Saturday’s final at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

At Marietta College’s Don Drumm Stadium, Jackson (Dallas/Lake Highlands) won Heat 1 with a time of 55.74 seconds.

Jackson will race Saturday from lane 4. The women’s 400 is set for a 1:20 p.m. central start.

“Staci ran a great race,” said Patrick Zarate, TLU’s head coach for women’s track and field. “She started out strong and finished strong. She put herself in perfect position for tomorrow.”

Jackson was one of four qualifiers from Heat 1. She beat Cara Riffe (56.10) of Thiel, Nevada Morrison (56.34) of Wartburg and Kathleen Folbrecht (56.53) of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to the line. Riffe, Morrison, and Folbrecht qualified on time for the final.

Liz Kooistra of Wisconsin-Eau Clair won Heat 2 and was the only qualifier for the final from that heat. Kooistra took the heat with a time of 56.35.

Robin Yerkes of Roanoke (55.91), Hannah Baker of Wartburg (55.97), and Marcia McCord of Ithaca (56.26) advanced to the final from Heat 3.

The final includes three seniors (Jackson, Riffe, Kooistra), three juniors (Folbrecht, Yerkes, Baker), a sophomore (McCord), and a freshman (Morrison).

Four of the top nine from last year’s NCAA Division III 400 final are back for the 2009 final. Baker was the national runner-up in 2008 by .05 seconds with a time of 54.40. Kooistra (55.68), McCord (55.92) and Jackson (56.00) grabbed fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, in 2008.

If all eight sprinters complete the race, they each will be considered 2009 NCAA Division III Track & Field All-Americans. The top eight finishers in each national championship event earn All-America status.

Jackson is a two-time All-American in the outdoor 400. She made the outdoor championship final in 2007 and in 2008. She was eighth in 2007 and sixth in 2008.

In her three-year career at TLU, Jackson has claimed nine previous All-America citations. Her nine honors have come in the following events: the 2007 indoor 4x400 relay (1st), the 2007 outdoor 400 (8th), 2007 outdoor 4x100 relay (3rd), 2007 outdoor 4x400 relay (7th); 2008 indoor 400 (6th), 2008 indoor 4x400 relay (3rd); 2008 outdoor 400 (6th), 2008 outdoor 4x100 (1st), and 2008 outdoor 4x400 (2nd).

Jackson transferred to TLU for the 2006-07 school year from McMurry University, where she earned the first of her 10 total NCAA DIII All-America honors as a member of McMurry’s 2006 outdoor 4x400 relay team.

As a Bulldog, Jackson is a two-time national champion (2007 indoor 4x400 and 2008 outdoor 4x100). She has won or been a part of 11 conference titles, and she holds eight TLU school records in indoor and outdoor track and field. She was the 2007 and 2009 ASC Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and the 2007 South/Southeast Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.

~Recaps Courtesy of Each Sports Information Department

DAY 1 RECAP