D3 Nationals Recap
D3 Nationals Recap
The indoor season came to a close this weekend, and surprise winners and losers littered the talented fields. When all was said and done, North Central and UW-Oshkosh came away with the men’s and women’s team titles, but there’s a lot more to the story than meets the eye. Here’s a closer look at each of the previewed races:
DMR
The first distance final of the meet was certainly an exciting one. Coby Horowitz of Bowdoin led the men’s field through 1200, but by the start of the 1600 leg most of the contenders were still around. However, notably absent from the front were Amherst’s record setting squad, which opted to rest Ben Scheetz for his triple the following evening. Further, Steven Corsello continued to have a tough day, as after failing to make the mile final he was dropped by the other 1200 legs, leaving Amherst in an early hole. Likely attempting to save his legs for the mile final, anchor Will Yochum packed it in, which caused Amherst—the fastest team in division three history—to be lapped. Sensing this opportunity, Tony Dipre of Allegheny took control over the second half of the final leg, and he held off the other contenders all the way to the finish. Despite doing everything in their power to bring home the win, Haverford’s team faded to third, as Nate Stymiest and UW-Oshkosh took second.
The women’s DMR went almost completely to form, though Keene State did their best to surprise the top squads from Wash U and Middlebury. Amy Knoblock of Keene State, eventual third placer in the mile, ran a strong 1200 leg, and anchor Paige Mills held on to Margo Cramer of Middlebury and Liz Phillips of Wash U as the three broke away from the rest of the field. Cramer powered home in impressive fashion to give Middlebury a track title to go along with their trophy from cross country. Phillips and Wash U finished more than a second behind, and Mills and Keene State even further back. Last seed Williams also was a surprise, hanging on to the top three for the start of the 1600 leg before fading a bit for fourth overall.
400
In the men’s trials, both Gino Bisceglia of SUNY Cortland and Chris Malaya of Wash U departed the competition earlier than anticipated, giving some credence both to the belief that the BU track is abnormally fast as well as the belief that Malaya’s last chance performance was a bit of a fluke. In the finals, Dan Benton of North Central stormed to victory in the first heat, leading eventual third placer Brandon Bennett-Green of Neumann across the line in 48.27. Knowing the fast times thrown down just moments before, the second heat got after it from the get-go. Justin Allen of Buffalo St. was able to hold off Ben Scheetz of Amherst, the overall fourth place finisher, all the way to the line, finishing in exactly 48.27 as well. Both heat winners were a bit upset—and rightfully so—to have such a close final left undecided until checking the time all the way to the thousandths. Presumably, though, Allen got over it pretty quickly, as he was declared the winner. Though it would have been nice for the two to get a chance to race each other to decide the championship, at least it was not deemed a dead heat, which was the case in the 55 final.
On the women’s side, the trials went predominantly to form, but again a strong challenge was made in the first of the two finals heats. Ruby Blackwell of Methodist stopped the clock at 55.89, putting immense pressure on second-heat favorites Nevada Morrison of Wartburg and Rachel Boerner of Calvin. Boerner did not disappoint, though, as she held of Morrison and took down Blackwell’s time with a 55.75 clocking, fifth best all-time in D3 (Blackwell’s time now occupies seventh on the all-time lists). Morrison was able to hold on to third overall to score some valuable points for her squad.
Mile
There was a good deal of intrigue surrounding the men's trials, with pre-race contenders Will Yochum and Steven Corsello of Amherst as well Patrick Klein of UW-Platteville struggling while Kirkwood Donavin of Cornell surprised us all and posted the fastest time on the day. Though Yochum and Klein advanced, they faded to the back of the finals pack. Guarino, as most anticipated, broke away, closing in under two minutes for the final 800 to get the win in a dominating 4:14.23. Greg Whittle of Calvin took second and Donavin continued to impress, as he closed well enough to get third.
The women’s trials saw early exits from contenders Maeve Evans of NYU and Simone Childs-Walker of Carleton—though the two likely benefited from not racing the finals as they both turned in great performances the following evening in the 5k. The final proved to be fairly tactical, which seemed to play into the hands of the speedier Christy Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh and Catie Ellingson of Simpson. However, sophomore sensation Randelle Boots showed why she should have been the favorite, as she simply ran away from the field over the last 400, closing in 67.40 to win in 4:57.46. Grayce Selig of Brandeis and Amy Knoblock of Keene State surprised in a two-three finish, while Cazzola and Ellingson faded to fourth and fifth, respectively.
800
The trials went mostly according to form, and former champion Emmanuel Bofa of Whitworth took the finals out hard. Ben Scheetz of Amherst, however, was smart enough to sit back until late in the game. Just when it appeared that Jake Waterman of Wabash had it all locked up, Scheetz charged past in the final straightaway and got the win by a scant six hundredths of a second. Though his tough racing schedule had some questioning his ability to hang on in the 800 final (myself included), he was able to weather the lactate and the competition, as he impressively played in a role in every point for third-ranked Amherst—indeed, he was named the man’s track performer of the meet for his work in the 400, 800, and 4x400. Tyler Newhook of Messiah was a surprise third.
Defending indoor champ Emily Schudrowitz of St. Norbert was a prelims casualty on the women’s side, though after that hiccup, the final went largely as expected. Keelie Finnel of Coe held the lead the entire last 400 after a fast (63-low) first half, and though Ann Tank of UW-Platteville tried to reel her in, her efforts proved futile. However, Tank was able to hold on to second. Leah Clement of Wellesley, ranked second coming into the race, faded to sixth over the last 400.
5k
Mike Heymann of Plattsburgh St., owner of the fastest time coming in, took the race out fast (8:41 through 3k), and the pace never let up--in fact, it got even faster. Perennial contender Mike Spain knew his Cardinals needed the points, and he did not disappoint, putting the team on his back and breaking away for a 14:17.41 runaway victory, the eighth fastest time in division history. It turns out that the victory was even more important than he realized, as his team won by a single point. Brian Butzler of UW-Whitewater closed over the final kilometer, but he was already too far back to put any pressure on Spain. David Stilin of UW-La Crosse came in third to successfully complete his weekend double--he anchored his squad to fourth overall in the DMR the previous evening. Heymann and Lee Berube of Geneseo, the only two automatic qualifiers, faded to sixth and seventh in this deep and talented field, and cross country national champ Anders Hulleberg also struggled, finishing back in twelfth.
The women’s race started off with a bang, too, when Liz Lawton of U of Chicago and Wendy Pavlus of St. Lawrence took to the front at a dangerous clip. Only Joanna Johnson of Oberlin was brave (or perhaps foolish) enough to join them, as the rest of the field was content to lie in wait. Pavlus, however, never cracked, and ultimately powered to the win in 16:51.78. Lawton and Johnson, on the other hand, did drop off, with Lawton failing to finish and Johnson getting swallowed up by the chase pack before rallying for fourth. Christina Valerio of Johns Hopkins won the race amongst the large chase pack, as she surged home to the only other sub-17 performance on the day.
4x400
The men’s race proved to be very both interesting and controversial, and it almost had major implications for the final team placing. North Central had the title all but locked up after the 5k, especially since their relay was one of the best in the nation. However, despite dominating the fast heat and posting the top time on the day, they were disqualified after a protest, leaving UW-La Crosse as the winners from the middle heat. Luckily for North Central, UW-Oshkosh was unable to pick up enough points to change the top of the standings, despite outperforming their rank coming into the meet. Finishing in second and third after the DQ were UW-Stevens Point and Williams College.
As expected on the women’s side, Wartburg put on quite a show, finishing in 3:47.16. Illinois Wesleyan stayed close and even had the lead after the first two legs, but Wartburg’s depth was too strong to overcome, as they ended up more than a second behind. North Central’s squad took third as the heats went extraordinarily to form—the top four times all came from the fast heat, while the next best times all came from the second heat.
Team Title
As noted earlier, Mike Spain’s victory turned out to be the difference for the Cardinals as their team held off a surprise challenge from Central College, led by 26 points from pentathlete Ethan Miller. Also in the running until the very end were UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh, finishing third and fourth, respectively. When the results were all tallied, the scores read 45-44-43-42 for first through fourth place, which I’m sure is the closest four-team finish in D3 history. Congrats Cardinals!
The women’s side was much less exciting, as UW-Oshkosh and their record-breaking throwers built a lead more than large enough to hold off a late charge from Wartburg’s incredible 4x400 squad. MIT was able to pick up some big points from star Portia Jones to assemble a third place finish, but their 30.5 points were well back from the top two's scores of 46.5 and 44. Congrats Titans!
In addition, here are a few scattered shout-outs for athletes all around the country:
As anticipated, the women’s pole vault proved brilliant, with Abigail Schaffer of Moravian breaking the D3 national record with a vault of 4.17. Other top ten performers include Holly Ozanich of UW-Oshkosh (moving up to 2nd in the Weight Throw), Yaneve Fonge of Rochester (moving up to 4th in the Weight Throw), Erica Johnson of Buffalo State (4th in the 55 Dash), Ashlinn Chavis of Methodist (tied for 5th in the Long Jump and tied for 9th in the 55 Dash), Richard Roethal of Christopher Newport (7th in the Pentathlon), and Craig Van Leeuwen of Ramapo and Peter Geraghty of North Central (tied for 10th in the Pole Vault).
Also, lest we forget, the outdoor season is already underway, and we already have our first automatic distance qualifier—Jennifer Tave of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ran 35:22.27 in the 10k to punch her very early ticket to Ohio. Keep up the good work out there in the warmer parts of the country, and it’s time for all of the rest of us to get back to work. It’s been a great season, and I’m sure this upcoming one will impress just as much, if not more.
DMR
The first distance final of the meet was certainly an exciting one. Coby Horowitz of Bowdoin led the men’s field through 1200, but by the start of the 1600 leg most of the contenders were still around. However, notably absent from the front were Amherst’s record setting squad, which opted to rest Ben Scheetz for his triple the following evening. Further, Steven Corsello continued to have a tough day, as after failing to make the mile final he was dropped by the other 1200 legs, leaving Amherst in an early hole. Likely attempting to save his legs for the mile final, anchor Will Yochum packed it in, which caused Amherst—the fastest team in division three history—to be lapped. Sensing this opportunity, Tony Dipre of Allegheny took control over the second half of the final leg, and he held off the other contenders all the way to the finish. Despite doing everything in their power to bring home the win, Haverford’s team faded to third, as Nate Stymiest and UW-Oshkosh took second.
The women’s DMR went almost completely to form, though Keene State did their best to surprise the top squads from Wash U and Middlebury. Amy Knoblock of Keene State, eventual third placer in the mile, ran a strong 1200 leg, and anchor Paige Mills held on to Margo Cramer of Middlebury and Liz Phillips of Wash U as the three broke away from the rest of the field. Cramer powered home in impressive fashion to give Middlebury a track title to go along with their trophy from cross country. Phillips and Wash U finished more than a second behind, and Mills and Keene State even further back. Last seed Williams also was a surprise, hanging on to the top three for the start of the 1600 leg before fading a bit for fourth overall.
400
In the men’s trials, both Gino Bisceglia of SUNY Cortland and Chris Malaya of Wash U departed the competition earlier than anticipated, giving some credence both to the belief that the BU track is abnormally fast as well as the belief that Malaya’s last chance performance was a bit of a fluke. In the finals, Dan Benton of North Central stormed to victory in the first heat, leading eventual third placer Brandon Bennett-Green of Neumann across the line in 48.27. Knowing the fast times thrown down just moments before, the second heat got after it from the get-go. Justin Allen of Buffalo St. was able to hold off Ben Scheetz of Amherst, the overall fourth place finisher, all the way to the line, finishing in exactly 48.27 as well. Both heat winners were a bit upset—and rightfully so—to have such a close final left undecided until checking the time all the way to the thousandths. Presumably, though, Allen got over it pretty quickly, as he was declared the winner. Though it would have been nice for the two to get a chance to race each other to decide the championship, at least it was not deemed a dead heat, which was the case in the 55 final.
On the women’s side, the trials went predominantly to form, but again a strong challenge was made in the first of the two finals heats. Ruby Blackwell of Methodist stopped the clock at 55.89, putting immense pressure on second-heat favorites Nevada Morrison of Wartburg and Rachel Boerner of Calvin. Boerner did not disappoint, though, as she held of Morrison and took down Blackwell’s time with a 55.75 clocking, fifth best all-time in D3 (Blackwell’s time now occupies seventh on the all-time lists). Morrison was able to hold on to third overall to score some valuable points for her squad.
Mile
There was a good deal of intrigue surrounding the men's trials, with pre-race contenders Will Yochum and Steven Corsello of Amherst as well Patrick Klein of UW-Platteville struggling while Kirkwood Donavin of Cornell surprised us all and posted the fastest time on the day. Though Yochum and Klein advanced, they faded to the back of the finals pack. Guarino, as most anticipated, broke away, closing in under two minutes for the final 800 to get the win in a dominating 4:14.23. Greg Whittle of Calvin took second and Donavin continued to impress, as he closed well enough to get third.
The women’s trials saw early exits from contenders Maeve Evans of NYU and Simone Childs-Walker of Carleton—though the two likely benefited from not racing the finals as they both turned in great performances the following evening in the 5k. The final proved to be fairly tactical, which seemed to play into the hands of the speedier Christy Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh and Catie Ellingson of Simpson. However, sophomore sensation Randelle Boots showed why she should have been the favorite, as she simply ran away from the field over the last 400, closing in 67.40 to win in 4:57.46. Grayce Selig of Brandeis and Amy Knoblock of Keene State surprised in a two-three finish, while Cazzola and Ellingson faded to fourth and fifth, respectively.
800
The trials went mostly according to form, and former champion Emmanuel Bofa of Whitworth took the finals out hard. Ben Scheetz of Amherst, however, was smart enough to sit back until late in the game. Just when it appeared that Jake Waterman of Wabash had it all locked up, Scheetz charged past in the final straightaway and got the win by a scant six hundredths of a second. Though his tough racing schedule had some questioning his ability to hang on in the 800 final (myself included), he was able to weather the lactate and the competition, as he impressively played in a role in every point for third-ranked Amherst—indeed, he was named the man’s track performer of the meet for his work in the 400, 800, and 4x400. Tyler Newhook of Messiah was a surprise third.
Defending indoor champ Emily Schudrowitz of St. Norbert was a prelims casualty on the women’s side, though after that hiccup, the final went largely as expected. Keelie Finnel of Coe held the lead the entire last 400 after a fast (63-low) first half, and though Ann Tank of UW-Platteville tried to reel her in, her efforts proved futile. However, Tank was able to hold on to second. Leah Clement of Wellesley, ranked second coming into the race, faded to sixth over the last 400.
5k
Mike Heymann of Plattsburgh St., owner of the fastest time coming in, took the race out fast (8:41 through 3k), and the pace never let up--in fact, it got even faster. Perennial contender Mike Spain knew his Cardinals needed the points, and he did not disappoint, putting the team on his back and breaking away for a 14:17.41 runaway victory, the eighth fastest time in division history. It turns out that the victory was even more important than he realized, as his team won by a single point. Brian Butzler of UW-Whitewater closed over the final kilometer, but he was already too far back to put any pressure on Spain. David Stilin of UW-La Crosse came in third to successfully complete his weekend double--he anchored his squad to fourth overall in the DMR the previous evening. Heymann and Lee Berube of Geneseo, the only two automatic qualifiers, faded to sixth and seventh in this deep and talented field, and cross country national champ Anders Hulleberg also struggled, finishing back in twelfth.
The women’s race started off with a bang, too, when Liz Lawton of U of Chicago and Wendy Pavlus of St. Lawrence took to the front at a dangerous clip. Only Joanna Johnson of Oberlin was brave (or perhaps foolish) enough to join them, as the rest of the field was content to lie in wait. Pavlus, however, never cracked, and ultimately powered to the win in 16:51.78. Lawton and Johnson, on the other hand, did drop off, with Lawton failing to finish and Johnson getting swallowed up by the chase pack before rallying for fourth. Christina Valerio of Johns Hopkins won the race amongst the large chase pack, as she surged home to the only other sub-17 performance on the day.
4x400
The men’s race proved to be very both interesting and controversial, and it almost had major implications for the final team placing. North Central had the title all but locked up after the 5k, especially since their relay was one of the best in the nation. However, despite dominating the fast heat and posting the top time on the day, they were disqualified after a protest, leaving UW-La Crosse as the winners from the middle heat. Luckily for North Central, UW-Oshkosh was unable to pick up enough points to change the top of the standings, despite outperforming their rank coming into the meet. Finishing in second and third after the DQ were UW-Stevens Point and Williams College.
As expected on the women’s side, Wartburg put on quite a show, finishing in 3:47.16. Illinois Wesleyan stayed close and even had the lead after the first two legs, but Wartburg’s depth was too strong to overcome, as they ended up more than a second behind. North Central’s squad took third as the heats went extraordinarily to form—the top four times all came from the fast heat, while the next best times all came from the second heat.
Team Title
As noted earlier, Mike Spain’s victory turned out to be the difference for the Cardinals as their team held off a surprise challenge from Central College, led by 26 points from pentathlete Ethan Miller. Also in the running until the very end were UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh, finishing third and fourth, respectively. When the results were all tallied, the scores read 45-44-43-42 for first through fourth place, which I’m sure is the closest four-team finish in D3 history. Congrats Cardinals!
The women’s side was much less exciting, as UW-Oshkosh and their record-breaking throwers built a lead more than large enough to hold off a late charge from Wartburg’s incredible 4x400 squad. MIT was able to pick up some big points from star Portia Jones to assemble a third place finish, but their 30.5 points were well back from the top two's scores of 46.5 and 44. Congrats Titans!
In addition, here are a few scattered shout-outs for athletes all around the country:
As anticipated, the women’s pole vault proved brilliant, with Abigail Schaffer of Moravian breaking the D3 national record with a vault of 4.17. Other top ten performers include Holly Ozanich of UW-Oshkosh (moving up to 2nd in the Weight Throw), Yaneve Fonge of Rochester (moving up to 4th in the Weight Throw), Erica Johnson of Buffalo State (4th in the 55 Dash), Ashlinn Chavis of Methodist (tied for 5th in the Long Jump and tied for 9th in the 55 Dash), Richard Roethal of Christopher Newport (7th in the Pentathlon), and Craig Van Leeuwen of Ramapo and Peter Geraghty of North Central (tied for 10th in the Pole Vault).
Also, lest we forget, the outdoor season is already underway, and we already have our first automatic distance qualifier—Jennifer Tave of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps ran 35:22.27 in the 10k to punch her very early ticket to Ohio. Keep up the good work out there in the warmer parts of the country, and it’s time for all of the rest of us to get back to work. It’s been a great season, and I’m sure this upcoming one will impress just as much, if not more.