(Portions of this story were taken from the Trinity
University, DePauw University and Centre
College websites)
MARIETTA, Ohio - Trinity University seniors
Chris Baer and Todd Wildman
(pictured right) along with Centre College freshman
Emily Niehaus all came through with All-America
performances on Thursday at the 2009 NCAA Division III Track and
Field Championships at Marietta College. Official
championships website
Baer (pictured left), who earned
All-America honors for the second straight year, registered a throw
of 201 feet even (61.27 meters) to take third place in the event.
He placed fifth in the javelin in the 2008 NCAA meet at Oshkosh,
Wis. Last year, Baer, also a standout running back
for the Tigers football team, became one of Trinity's first
Division III men's track and field All-Americans, along with Zach
Brush (800 meters).
Wildman also had an All-America performance
Thursday, in the long jump. Wildman finished sixth
with a jump of 22 feet, 10 ¾ inches (6.98 meters). He just
missed the finals of the 400-meter hurdles, clocking in at 52.95
seconds. The eighth and final slot went to a runner with a time of
52.78 seconds. Wildman, the national champion in
the NCAA Indoor pentathlon, will compete Friday in the 110-meter
hurdles trials, with the finals slated for Saturday. He also will
compete in the high jump on Saturday.
Trinity senior Elizabeth Eder placed 13th
in the women's 10,000 meters, at 37:37.16 and senior D'Ann
Arthur was 15th, with a time of 38:10.35.
Joining Baer and Wildman as
first-day All-Americans from the SCAC was Centre College
freshman thrower Emily Niehaus (pictured
left). Niehaus earned earned All-America
honors in the hammer throw event with a toss of 164' 2" (50.04
meters) - good for an eighth-place finish.
Her teammate, sophomore Chrys Jones, enters the
field for the third time as one of the top triple jumpers in the
country. He will attempt to bring home top honors in the triple
jump event on Saturday. Jones is currently ranked
second in the event with a season best jump of 15.45 meters
(50'-8,1/4"), only nine centimeters away from the leader, senior Al
Winsley of Mississippi College.
Among other SCAC student-athletes competing on Thursday, DePauw
junior Lauren Reich ran the eighth-fastest time in
today's 1,500-meter prelims and qualified for Saturday's finals.
Reich finished fourth in her heat in 4:37.52 which was just .2 seconds off the top time of the heat. Marie Borner of Bethel (Minn.) ran the fastest time in the prelims in 4:32.92. Reich finished fifth in the 1,500 at last year's Championships and earned all-America honors.
Saturday's finals are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Marietta College. Reich will also compete in tomorrow's 800-meter run prelims at 4:55 p.m.
Still to compete on Friday for Trinity in the men's discus is first-year student-athlete Justin Campbell, also an offensive lineman for Tiger football. Senior Emily Loeffler is set for the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday. Loeffler is a three-time All-American in outdoor and indoor track, and cross country. She placed fifth in the NCAA Indoor 5,000 meters, and was third in the 2008 Outdoor steeplechase. Loeffler was 17th in last fall's NCAA Cross Country Championships.
.gif?max_width=280&max_height=139&crop=true)
.gif?max_width=280&max_height=139&crop=true)
