The NCAA News - News and Features

March 17, 1997

Depth helps Wisconsin-La Crosse capture III men's crown

Can a bunch of third-place finishes equal a first-place showing? It can in track and field.

Wisconsin-La Crosse placed third in four events en route to scoring 44 points and edging two-time defending champion Lincoln (Pennsylvania) for the 1997 Division III Men's Indoor Track Championships title March 7-8 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

The Eagles, who also got a victory from David Whiteis in the 400-meter dash, claimed a championships-record seventh team title. Wisconsin-La Crosse has won five of the last seven championships.

The three-point margin of victory was the closest since 1987, when Wisconsin-La Crosse edged St. Lawrence by one point (44-43). In addition, the Eagles' 44-point total was the lowest winning score since Lincoln scored 36 points to win the 1990 crown.

Lincoln, which finished as runner-up for the sixth time, won two individual events but was unable to overcome the Eagles' balance.

Mount Union, Wisconsin-Stout and Hunter placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively, with 35, 24 and 18 points.

Whiteis claimed the Eagles' only individual title by cruising to victory in the 400 meters. Whiteis finished with a time of 48.71 to outdistance runner-up Terry Anders of Wisconsin-Stout, who was gunning for an unprecedented third consecutive title in the event. Anders crossed the finish line in 49.06 seconds.

While Wisconsin-La Crosse received 10 points for Whiteis' performance, the Eagles received the bulk of their points (24) from third-place finishes by Brad Wilson (1,500-meter run), Chris Kaufmann (pole vault) and Erik Lehet (35-pound weight throw) and the 1,600-meter relay quartet of Whiteis, Scott Kazik, Phil Vetterkind and Wilson.

Haverford's Karl Paranya turned in the championships' only record-breaking performance as he smashed his own mark in the 1,500-meter run. Paranya posted a time of 3:47.72 to become the first competitor to win three consecutive 1,500-meter run titles.

Lincoln's Tyrone Watkins and the Lions' foursome of Eric Schmidt, Anthony Julien, Larry Lyerly and Robert Woolbright successfully defended titles in the 55-meter hurdles and 1,600-meter relay, respectively. The Lions have won the last three relay crowns.

Championships results

Division III men's indoor track

TEAM RESULTS

1. Wis.-La Crosse, 44; 2. Lincoln (Pa.), 41; 3. Mount Union, 35; 4. Wis.-Stout, 24; 5. Hunter, 18; 6. North Central, 17; 7. (tie) Wheaton (Mass.), Wis.-Stevens Point and Haverford, 16; 10. (tie) Bates and Augustana (Ill.), 12.

12. (tie) Brandeis, Neb. Wesleyan, Upper Iowa, Rose-Hulman, MIT and RPI, 10; 18. (tie) Cortland St., Ohio Northern, Rochester and Emory, 8.

22. (tie) Carroll, Amherst, Mary Washington, Binghamton and Monmouth (Ill.), 6; 27. Wis.-Oshkosh, 5; 28. (tie) Chris. Newport, Anderson (Ind.), St. Lawrence and Wis.-Eau Claire, 4.

32. (tie) Rowan, Wis.-Whitewater and Millikin, 2; 35. (tie) Col. of New Jersey, St. Thomas (Minn.) and Gust. Adolphus, 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

55-meter dash: 1. Krishaun Gilmore, Rensselaer, 6.36; 2. Stefan Mascoll, Cortland St., 6.39; 3. R. J. Hoppe, Carroll, 6.41; 4. Calvin Bunch, Chris. Newport, 6.44; 5. Aaron Johnson, Rowan, 6.46; 6. Roland Whiting, Lincoln (Pa.), 6.47.

400-meter dash: 1. David Whiteis, Wis.-La Crosse, 48.71; 2. Terry Anders, Wis.-Stout, 49.06; 3. Sekou Dilday, Wheaton (Mass.), 49.15; 4. Eric Schmidt, Lincoln (Pa.), 49.21; 5. Mario Watts, Amherst, 49.22; 6. Matt Wolf, Ohio Northern, 49.34.

800-meter run: 1. Geoff Getz, Brandeis, 1:53.28; 2. Andre Bogle, Lincoln (Pa.), 1:53.47; 3. Ntobeko Ntusi, Haverford, 1:53.53; 4. Brett Witt, Wis.-Stevens Point, 1:53.54; 5. Eugene Kornilov, Mount Union, 1:53.70; 6. Nate Breed, North Central, 1:53.93.

1,500-meter run: 1. Karl Paranya, Haverford, 3:47.72 (meet record; old record, 3:48.43, Paranya, 1996); 2. Eugene Kornilov, Mount Union, 3:47.85; 3. Brad Wilson, Wis.-La Crosse, 3:50.97; 4. Robert Mitchell, Amherst, 3:51.56; 5. Tony Rizzo, North Central, 3:51.61; 6. David Cooper, Mount Union, 3:51.84.

5,000-meter run: 1. David Cooper, Mount Union, 14:37.44; 2. Andrew Evans, Rochester, 14:40.07; 3. John Gates, Mary Washington, 14:42.26; 4. Matt Thull, Wis.-Oshkosh, 14:43.80; 5. Brett Altergott, Wis.-La Crosse, 14:44.42; 6. Dan Murphy, Wis.-La Crosse, 14:44.84.

55-meter hurdles: 1. Tyrone Watkins, Lincoln (Pa.), 7.41; 2. Shawn Moretti, Wis.-Stevens Point, 7.51; 3. Jewdyer Osborne, Binghamton, 7.52; 4. Clifford Goss, Anderson (Ind.), 7.64; 5. Brandon Schroer, Neb. Wesleyan, 7.64; 6. Brian Hauff, Neb. Wesleyan, 7.64.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Lincoln (Pa.) (Eric Schmidt, Anthony Julien, Larry Lyerly, Robert Woolbright), 3:16.45; 2. Wis.-Stout, 3:18.31; 3. Wis.-La Crosse, 3:18.40; 4. Neb. Wesleyan, 3:20.02; 5. Wis.-Stevens Point, 3:21.22; 6. Col. of New Jersey, 3:21.93.

High jump: 1. Eric Taylor-Perry, Wheaton (Mass.), 2.18 (7-13/4); 2. Thomas Thompson, Lincoln (Pa.), 2.18 (7-13/4); 3. Grant Jones, Ohio Northern, 2.13 (6-113/4); 4. Jason Smith, North Central, 2.08 (6-93/4); 5. Brandon Schroer, Neb. Wesleyan, 2.08 (6-93/4); 6. Tim Hess, Wis.-Oshkosh, 2.08 (6-93/4).

Pole vault: 1. Ryan Loftus, Rose-Hulman, 5.08 (16-8); 2. Corey Christenson, Augustana (Ill.), 4.90 (16-03/4); 3. Chris Kaufmann, Wis.-La Crosse, 4.90 (16-03/4); 4. Geoff Biegler, Wis.-La Crosse, 4.80 (15-9); 5. Jesse Maynard, Wis.-Stevens Point, 4.80 (15-9); 6. Ben Shaffer, Ohio Northern, 4.80 (15-9).

Long jump: 1. David Thompson, North Central, 7.36 (24-13/4); 2. Keyrn Gordon, Hunter, 7.23 (23-83/4); 3. Shawn Watson, Mount Union, 7.19 (23-71/4); 4. Chris Burgess, St. Lawrence, 7.09 (23-31/4); 5. Kenneth Troy Thompson, Emory, 7.06 (23-2); 6. Jeff Cizek, Neb. Wesleyan, 7.03 (23-03/4).

Triple jump: 1. Nigel Franklyn, Hunter, 14.98 (49-13/4); 2. Shawn Watson, Mount Union, 14.63 (48-0); 3. Kenneth Troy Thompson, Emory, 14.36 (47-11/2); 4. Tommy Ngo, Wis.-Eau Claire, 14.20 (46-71/4); 5. Robert Thompson, Wis.-Whitewater, 14.06 (46-11/2); 6. Jeff Czebotar, Wis.-La Crosse, 14.06 (46-11/2).

Shot put: 1. Dennis Black, Upper Iowa, 17.39 (57-03/4); 2. Jason Lehman, Wis.-Stout, 16.43 (53-11); 3. Chris Sondgeroth, Monmouth (Ill.), 16.26 (53-41/4); 4. Ryan Carpenter, Augustana (Ill.), 15.89 (52-13/4); 5. Tige Butts, Millikan, 15.83 (51-111/4); 6. Aaron Smith, Gust. Adolphus, 15.77 (51-9).

35-pound weight throw: 1. John Wallberg, MIT, 18.07 (59-31/2); 2. Paul Kolter, Bates, 17.18 (56-41/2); 3. Erik Lehet, Wis.-La Crosse, 17.00 (55-91/4); 4. Spencer Potter, Bates, 16.58 (54-43/4); 5. Ryan Carlson, Wis.-La Crosse, 16.48 (54-1); 6. Aaron Harper, St. Thomas (Minn.), 16.38 (53-9).