It had been a little over a week since the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships and already preparation for the next season has begun. It seems as if a runner’s work is never done. As the temperatures get colder and the precipitation turns white, Mother Nature pushes us rather forcefully inside for the indoor track season. Indoor we train our bodies for the outdoor season and dream of warm weather; unless you go to school in Florida then you do not dream as much. The NCAA Division II Indoor Championships will be held at Minnesota State University, Mankato on March 14-15. Last year, St. Augustine's claimed both the men's and women's team titles at the 2007 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships co-hosted by Stonehill College and the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center. It was a repeat performance for the men’s team led by then Senior Jammal Torrance. Torrance set a meet record in the 200m with a mark of 21.19 seconds and won the 400m with a time of 46.58 seconds. This year’s Cross Country team champions, Abilene Christian, came in second with a score of 48.5. North Carolina Central and Adams state came in third and fourth with 43 and 38 points.
There were several notable performances. North Carolina Central’s Christopher Davis won the 60 meters running a 6.72. Adams State’s Senior, Aucencio Martinez won the mile in 4:03.82 barely beating Abilene Christian’s Nicodemus Naimadu who ran a 4:03.89. Martinez’s teammate, Nick Lara won the 800m in 1:49.73. Nicodemus came back to win the 5000m with the time of 14:02.87 over Western State’s Kim Hogarth who ran a 14:03.09. St. Augustine’s women’s team reclaimed their title from Lincoln University scoring 105 point to their 64. Four record setting performances helped lead the way for St. Augustine's, as sophomore Davita Prendergast broke her own mark in the 200 meters she set in Friday's preliminaries with a time of 23.56 seconds. Senior Marquita Davis ran a record 8.44 seconds in the 60 meter high hurdles, while freshman Barbara Pierre set the standard in the 60 meters with a time of 7.41 seconds. Freshman Kwonya Ferguson also set a new record for the Falcons in the triple jump with a mark of 13.26 meters, as she was also earned her third champion accolades of the meet in the high jump with a mark of 1.79 meters. Grand Valley State came in third with 39.50 points and Abilene Christian came in fourth with 36 points. There were some other notable performances. Lincoln’s Davita Prendergast set a meet record in the 200m running a 23.56. This year’s cross country champion, Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler won the mile in the time of 4:42. Pittsburg State’s Venessa Lee won the 800m in the time of 2:08. Grand Valley Senior, Mandi Zemba had a meet record winning the 5000m in the time of 16:16.77. Many seniors have graduated and others have picked up injuries making this indoor season different then the last. The question is who will entertain us this winter when we are driven inside? I don’t really know but I can hardly wait to see. *Photo from sacbee.com -Does anyone know the name of the male runner who broke his leg during the national meet and still finished all-american?