The NCAA News - News and Features

March 17, 1997

Wildcats capture II men's track in record-setting fashion

Most, if not all, Division II men's indoor track coaches figured that Abilene Christian would claim the 1997 NCAA indoor track team title.

But few coaches, including Wildcats coach Wes Kittley, expected that the Wildcats would devastate the field March 7-8 at the RCA Dome.

Claiming a record-tying six individual titles, Abilene Christian racked up an NCAA indoor track championships-record 128 points -- more than the next four finishers combined -- to blow away the field and win its second consecutive championship and its fifth overall.

The Wildcat women also won a team title, marking the second consecutive year and fifth time overall that Abilene Christian has swept the men's and women's crowns.

St. Augustine's finished a distant runner-up in the men's competition with 43 points, followed by South Dakota, Central Missouri State and Morehouse.

The Wildcats, who exceeded 100 points for the second time in four years, are the only team in NCAA indoor track history to surpass that mark. Abilene Christian scored 101 points in winning the 1994 championship.

"Our men achieved the most phenomenal effort I've ever been associated with in track and field," Kittley said. "We won big, and that wasn't at all expected. It was total domination. We were strong in every event. So many of them had their personal bests today. That's the kind of thing you dream about."

Glenn Griffin, Sayon Cooper and Musa Gwanzura paced the Wildcats' onslaught. Each posted two top-three individual finishes, including first-place showings.

Griffin smashed the 35-pound weight throw record to win his first individual title and placed second in the shot put. Griffin heaved the weight 19.81 meters (65 feet) to eclipse the previous record by nearly three feet.

Cooper headed an Abilene Christian running attack that swept the sprints and also claimed two distance events. Cooper won the 55-meter dash and ran the third leg of the Wildcats' 1,600-meter relay title-winning team.

Gwanzura racked up 16 team points with a first-place showing in the 800-meter run and a third-place finish in the mile run.

Kempa Busby and David Kemei accounted for the other Wildcat titles, winning the 400-meter dash and 5,000-meter run, respectively.

Jason Prann, Trafton Rodgers and Busby joined Cooper on Abilene Christian's winning relay team.

Tambi Wenj of Cal State Los Angeles (shot put), Morehouse's Gregory Roberts (high jump), Dustin DeRosier of St. Cloud State (pole vault) and Steve Gordon of South Dakota (triple jump) joined Griffin in etching their names in the championships records book.

Wenj and Alexandr Alexin of Central Missouri State (mile run) were the only competitors to successfully defend individual championships.

Championships results

Division II men's indoor track

TEAM RESULTS

1. Abilene Christian, 128; 2. St. Augustine's, 43; 3. South Dak., 29; 4. Central Mo. St., 241/2; 5. Morehouse, 20; 6. Cal St. Los Angeles, 18; 7. Lewis, 17; 8. Indianapolis, 16; 9. St. Cloud St., 12; 10. Western St., 10.

11. (tie) North Dak. St., Augustana (S. D.), Wheeling Jesuit, North Fla. and Adams St., 8; 16. Pittsburg St., 61/2; 17. (tie) Southern Conn. St., Morningside and North Dak., 6; 20. Northwest Mo. St., 4.

21. (tie) Mass.-Lowell and Truman St., 3; 23. (tie) Southern Ind., UC Davis and Fort Hays St., 2; 26. (tie) New York Tech, Ashland, South Dak. St., Emporia St. and UC Riverside, 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

55-meter dash: 1. Sayon Cooper, Abilene Christian, 6.24; 2. Gabriel Burnett, St. Augustine's, 6.36; 3. Oscar Meneses, Abilene Christian, 6.39; 4. Ron Nelson, Abilene Christian, 6.40; 5. Bob Ewings, St. Cloud St., 6.42; 6. William Perry, St. Augustine's, 6.43.

400-meter dash: 1. Kempa Busby, Abilene Christian, 47.07; 2. Lionel McPhaull, South Dak., 47.08; 3. Jason Breitzman, North Dak. St., 47.65; 4. Daren Foster, St. Augustine's, 48.38; 5. Matt Antognoli, Truman St., 48.53; 6. Liam Govostes, Mass.-Lowell, 48.66.

800-meter run: 1. Musa Gwanzura, Abilene Christian, 1:49.50; 2. Ossie Mdziniso, Abilene Christian, 1:50.02; 3. Steve Willis, Western St., 1:50.91; 4. Manual Joseph, Lewis, 1:51.15; 5. Heith Janke, North Dak. St., 1:52.26; 6. Andrew Neugebauer, South Dak., 1:52.43.

5,000-meter run: 1. David Kemei, Abilene Christian, 14:02.90; 2. Stanislav Iordanov, North Fla., 14:03.96; 3. Thomas Korir, Abilene Christian, 14:05.58; 4. Hamish Smith, Western St., 14:06.33; 5. Elly Rono, Southern Ind., 14:12.31; 6. Dan Reed, UC Riverside, 14:27.83.

Mile run: 1. Alexandr Alexin, Central Mo. St., 4:05.49; 2. Thomas Korir, Abilene Christian, 4:05.83; 3. Musa Gwanzura, Abilene Christian, 4:05.90; 4. David Kemei, Abilene Christian, 4:05.93; 5. Mark McManus, UC Davis, 4:07.69; 6. Oliver Grund, Ashland, 4:08.03.

55-meter high hurdles: 1. Charlie Thomas, Morehouse, 7.34; 2. Stephen Gittens, Adams St., 7.42; 3. James McCarty, Pittsburg St., 7.43; 4. Trafton Rodgers, Abilene Christian, 7.44; 5. Derrick Trimble, St. Augustine's, 7.45; 6. Jeffery Savage, St. Augustine's, 7.57.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Abilene Christian (Jason Prann, Trafton Rodgers, Sayon Cooper, Kempa Busby), 3:12.82; 2. St. Augustine's, 3:13.70; 3. Central Mo. St., 3:13.94; 4. South Dak., 3:15.48; 5. Mass.-Lowell, 3:17.15; 6. New York Tech, 3:18.86.

High jump: 1. Gregory Roberts, Morehouse, 2.22 (7-31/4) [meet record; old record, 2.21 (7-3), Mike Fairchild, Mankato St., 1988]; 2. Theodore Williams, St. Augustine's, 2.17 (7-11/2); 3. Marc Sondreal, North Dak., 2.14 (7-01/4); 4. Chad Sutton, Northwest Mo. St., 2.08 (6-93/4); 5. Dayton Watson, St. Augustine's, 2.08 (6-93/4); 6. (tie) Jeff Sander, Central Mo. St., and Michael Hankins, Pittsburg St., 2.03 (6-8).

Pole vault: 1. Dustin DeRosier, St. Cloud St., 5.50 (18-01/2) [meet record; old record, 5.35 (17-61/2), Mike Drummey, Southern Conn. St., 1995]; 2. Andrei Skvortsov, Central Mo. St., 5.30 (17-41/2); 3. Jason Pearce, Abilene Christian, 5.20 (17-03/4); 4. Sam Patton, Abilene Christian, 5.20 (17-03/4); 5. Scott Preston, Lewis, 5.10 (16-83/4); 6. Brandon Masters, Emporia St., 4.90 (16-03/4).

Long jump: 1. Donnell Baylock, Lewis, 7.34 (24-1); 2. Tony Waters, Abilene Christian, 7.16 (23-6); 3. Steve Gordon, South Dakota, 7.11 (23-4); 4. Rod Coleman, Indianapolis, 7.10 (23-3); 5. Lancelot Gooden, St. Augustine's, 7.04 (23-11/4) 6. Burkheart Ellis, St. Augustine's, 7.03 (23-03/4).

Triple jump: 1. Steve Gordon, South Dak., 16.33 (53-7) [meet record; old record, 16.12 (52-10 3/4), Jonathan Jordan, Cal St. Los Angeles, 1996]; 2. Sergei Bykov, Wheeling Jesuit, 15.84 (51-113/4); 3. Rod Coleman, Indianapolis, 15.56 (51-03/4); 4. Burkheart Ellis, St. Augustine's, 15.08 (49-53/4); 5. Lancelot Gooden, St. Augustine's, 15.04 (49-41/4); 6. Shawn Weber, Truman St., 14.83 (48-8).

Shot put: 1. Tambi Wenj, Cal St. Los Angeles, 19.69 (64-7 1/4) [meet record; old record, 18.58 (60-111/2), Tambi Wenj, Cal St. Los Angeles, 1996]; 2. Glenn Griffin, Abilene Christian, 18.45 (60-61/2); 3. Andy Richardson, Indianapolis, 18.13 (59-53/4); 4. Luke Hurst, Abilene Christian, 18.10 (59-43/4); 5. Jeremy Hawks, Fort Hays St., 17.48 (57-41/4); 6. John DeLay, South Dak. St., 17.41 (57-11/2).

35-pound weight throw: 1. Glenn Griffin, Abilene Christian, 19.81 (65-0) [meet record; old record, 18.92 (62-1), John McEwen, Morningside, 1996]; 2. Tambi Wenj, Cal St. Los Angeles, 19.37 (63-63/4); 3. John McEwen, Morningside, 19.24 (63-1); 4. Dan Bourque, Southern Connecticut State, 18.68 (61-3); 5. Roy Bogue, Southern Connecticut State, 18.56 (60-103/4); 6. Tim Stoner, Lewis, 18.36 (60-3).

Division II women's

indoor track

TEAM RESULTS

1. Abilene Christian, 76; 2. St. Augustine's, 61; 3. Lincoln (Mo.), 30; 4. Lewis, 20; 5. Cal St. Los Angeles, 19; 6. Adams St., 17; 7. Augustana (S.D.), 16; 8. Ashland, 14; 9. (tie) Neb.-Omaha and North Dak. St., 13.

11. N. C. Central, 12; 12. Western St., 10; 13. (tie) Northwest Mo. St. and South Dak., 9; 15. (tie) Albany (N. Y.) and Mankato St., 8; 17. (tie) East Stroudsburg, Saginaw Valley, Kutztown and Fort Hays St., 6.

21. (tie) Emporia St. and New York Tech, 4; 23. St. Cloud St., 2; 24. (tie) St. Joseph's (Ind.), UC Davis and South Dak. St., 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

55-meter dash: 1. Bev Grant, Lincoln (Mo.), 6.91; 2. Elisha Marshall, N. C. Central, 6.91; 3. Delloreen Ennis, Abilene Christian, 7.03; 4. Danielle St. Leger, New York Tech, 7.09; 5. Wilna Nelson, St. Augustine's, 7.12; 6. Brandy Haan, Northwest Mo. St., 7.15.

400-meter dash: 1. Lorraine Graham, Lincoln (Mo.), 52.22 (meet record; old record, 53.73, Revoli Campbell, Abilene Christian, 1994 and 1995); 2. Katina Sommers, Abilene Christian, 54.30; 3. Carri Butler, Neb.-Omaha, 55.31; 4. Tracey Barnes, Abilene Christian, 55.41; 5. Prisca Philip, St. Augustine's, 55.43; 6. Deandra Doubrava, Emporia St., 55.99.

800-meter run: 1. Stacey Mills, Adams St., 2:07.78 (meet record; old record, 2:09.01, Malgorzata Biela, Lewis, 1996); 2. Mary Gill, North Dak. St., 2:07.80; 3. Malgorzata Biela, Lewis, 2:09.01; 4. Beth Bayser, Lewis, 2:09.61; 5. Jennifer Munyan, South Dak., 2:10.20; 6. Magali Schneider, Emporia St., 2:10.32.

5,000-meter run: 1. Kasia Arient, Lewis, 16:29.30; 2. Vivian Ruijters, Abilene Christian, 16:52.63; 3. Stacy Johnson, Augustana (S. D.), 16:56.68; 4. Miranda Boonstra, Abilene Christian, 17:00.98; 5. Kim Bugg, Adams St., 17:04.26; 6. Laura Witek, St. Joseph's, 17:10.22.

Mile run: 1. Vivian Ruijters, Abilene Christian, 4:47.58; 2. Michelle Clarke, Mankato St., 4:49.23; 3. Jan Blake, East Stroudsburg, 4:49.60; 4. Janelle Olson, Adams St., 4:54.07; 5. Tonya Dodge, Albany (N.Y.), 4:54.72; 6. Tara Biltoft, Neb.-Omaha, 4:59.22.

55-meter hurdles: 1. Delloreen Ennis, Abilene Christian, 7.74; 2. Andrea Giscombe, St. Augustine's, 7.80; 3. Lisa Taylor, St. Augustine's, 7.99; 4. Xiomara Diaz, Albany (N. Y.), 8.07; 5. Ellakisha Williamson, Albany (N. Y.), 8.15; 6. Karen Constable, St. Augustine's, 8.18.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Lincoln (Mo.) (Yvonne Andrews, Bev Grant, Shelly Berth, Lorraine Graham), 3:39.24 [meet record; old record, 3:43.19, St. Augustine's (Andrea Giscombe, Joyann Eli, Karen Constable, Prisca Philip), 1996]; 2. St. Augustine's, 3:41.61; 3. Abilene Christian, 3:44.75; 4. Neb.-Omaha, 3:46.82; 5. Emporia St., 3:46.93; 6. South Dak., 3:47.15.

High jump: 1. Debby Volkers, Augustana (S.D.), 1.79 (5-10) 2. Tracey Gust, Abilene Christian, 1.70 (5-7) 3. Becky Keeler, Fort Hays St., 1.70 (5-7) 4. Kimberly McPhatter, N. C. Central, 1.70 (5-7) 5. (tie) Misty Campbell, Northwest Mo. St.; Jacshell Sasser, Northwest Mo. St.; and Andrea Jeseritz, North Dak. St., 1.65 (5-5).

Long jump: 1. Shanaka Walker, St. Augustine's, 6.00 (19-81/4); 2. Nicole Irving, St. Augustine's, 5.94 (19-6); 3. Angie Sneider, Saginaw Valley, 5.94 (19-6); 4. Renna Toniste, Abilene Christian, 5.92 (19-51/4); 5. Lisa Taylor, St. Augustine's, 5.82 (19-11/4); 6. Angela Orlando, UC Davis, 5.80 (19-0).

Triple jump: 1. Ermalinda Shehu, Western St., 12.99 (42-71/2); 2. Renna Toniste, Abilene Christian, 12.75 (41-10); 3. Elena Swan, South Dak., 12.01 (39-5); 4. Shanaka Walker, St. Augustine's, 11.96 (39-3); 5. Nicole Irving, St. Augustine's, 11.79 (38-81/4); 6. Lori Harris, Adams St., 11.72 (38-51/2).

Shot put: 1. Petra Juraskova, Cal St. Los Angeles, 15.68 (51-51/2); 2. Denise George, St. Augustine's, 14.99 (49-21/4); 3. Leslie Dickherber, Northwest Mo. St., 14.67 (48-13/4); 4. Becky Ball, Ashland, 14.43 (47-41/4); 5. Theresa Williams, Neb.-Omaha, 14.33 (47-01/4); 6. Londa VanDerWal, South Dak. St., 14.04 (46-03/4).

20-pound weight throw: 1. Becky Ball, Ashland, 18.84 (61-53/4) [meet record; old record, 16.72 (54-101/4), Becky Ball, Ashland, 1996]; 2. LaVera Clark, Cal St. Los Angeles, 16.24 (53-3); 3. Tara Crozier, Kutztown, 15.87 (52-1); 4. Vicki Poehler, North Dak. St., 15.35 (50-4); 5. Sandy Dingmann, St. Cloud St., 15.31 (50-23/4); 6. Petra Juraskova, Cal St. Los Angeles, 14.73 (48-4).