The NCAA News - News and Features

June 2, 1997

Leap of faith: Pole vault dominance lifts Eagles to III men's title

Schnur leads impressive finish for host school

Wisconsin-La Crosse has won its share of Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships. But none of its wins may quite compare with the title the Eagles claimed May 21-24 on their home field.

Wisconsin-La Crosse captured three of the top four spots in the pole vault -- led by Mike Schnur's title-winning performance -- and Brett Altergott won the steeplechase title as the Eagles claimed their championships-record-tying fifth title overall.

The Eagles, who rebounded from an 11th-place showing in 1996, scored 691/2 points to end a three-year victory drought.

Wisconsin-La Crosse, which tied Rowan (1980 through 1984) for most team titles, is only the second host school to win. North Central did it twice, in 1989 and 1994.

Lincoln (Pennsylvania), which entered the meet as two-time defending champion, scored 581/3 points to place second.

Mount Union placed third with 571/2, followed by Wisconsin-Stevens Point (36). Christopher Newport, North Central and Haverford tied for fifth with 28 points. The top-five finishes for Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Haverford were school bests.

Wisconsin-La Crosse, which last fall claimed the men's cross country title, completed a sweep of this year's indoor and outdoor track titles and became the first Division III school to win all three championships in the same year.

"This one is special because it sealed what nobody else has been able to do in Division III -- that is, win the triple crown. Now we have set history," said Eagles coach Mark Guthrie. "Once cross country won, we had to come to practice every day with the word 'three-peat' in our minds."

Schnur made history of his own, winning the pole vault for an unprecedented third time. The 1994 and 1995 pole-vault champion, Schnur smashed the meet record by soaring 5.24 meters (17 feet, 21/4 inches) to break the championships mark shared by Schnur and Drew Orsinger of Coast Guard in 1995.

Schnur also placed seventh in the decathlon.

Chris Kauffman placed third and Geoff Biegler finished in a tie for fourth in the event, giving the Eagles a whopping 21 points.

"The pole vault was the event that swung the meet," Guthrie said. "That was without a doubt the event that turned it around, and then everything else seemed to fall into place."

Altergott, who finished eighth overall at the 1996 cross country championships, became the Eagles' first steeplechase champion, posting a time of 8 minutes, 55.91 seconds.

Ryan Carlson also scored in two events, posting a runner-up finish in the discus throw and a fifth-place showing in the hammer throw.

Brad Wilson, the seventh-place individual finisher at the cross country championships, placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run.

The Eagles also got a top-five finish in the 400-meter relay as Andy Renz, Chip Tancil, Scott Crothers and Aaron Taylor placed fourth.

Lincoln, which finished as runner-up for the eighth time, claimed three individual titles.

Tyrone Watkins won the 110-meter hurdles, Thomas Thompson claimed the high jump, and the squad's 1,600 relay quartet of Eric Schmidt, Rashawn McMillan, Larry Lyerly and Robert Woolbright gave the Lions their third consecutive relay crown.

Mount Union's Dave Cooper and Haverford's Karl Paranya each claimed two individual titles. Cooper won the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs, while Paranya successfully defended his 1,500-meter run title and also added his second 800-meter run crown.

Shawn Watson of Mount Union and Dennis Black of Upper Iowa joined Paranya in successfully defending event titles. Watson earned his second consecutive long-jump title, while Black won the shot-put crown for the second straight year.

DIVISION III MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

TEAM RESULTS

1. Wis.-La Crosse, 691/2; 2. Lincoln (Pa.), 581/3; 3. Mount Union, 571/2; 4. Wis.-Stevens Point, 36; 5. (tie) Chris. Newport, North Central and Haverford, 28; 8. (tie) Williams and Rowan, 25; 10. Howard Payne, 23.

11. Wis.-Stout, 22; 12. Neb. Wesleyan, 21; 13. (tie) Cortland St., Wis.-Oshkosh and Hunter, 16; 16. (tie) Coe, Ohio Wesleyan and Claremont-M-S, 15; 19. (tie) Bridgewater (Va.) and Allegheny, 14.

21. (tie) Calvin and Central (Iowa), 13; 23. (tie) Rensselaer and UC San Diego, 12; 25. (tie) Lynchburg, Upper Iowa, Wis.-Platteville and Colby, 10; 29. Springfield, 9; 30. (tie) La Verne, Wis.-Eau Claire, Mass.-Boston and Wheaton (Ill.), 8.

34. (tie) Pomona-Pitzer, Simpson, Carleton, Brandeis, Wartburg and Gust. Adolphus, 7; 40. (tie) Monmouth (Ill.), Binghamton, Wheaton (Mass.), Wis.-Whitewater and Worcester Tech, 6.

45. (tie) Frostburg St., Col. of New Jersey, Amherst, Bates and Anderson (Ind.), 5; 50. (tie) Ohio Northern, Emory, Mary Washington, Tufts, Stillman, Rhodes, Millikin and Baldwin-Wallace, 4.

58. (tie) Carnegie Mellon and Thiel, 3; 60. Allentown, 2; 61. (tie) Methodist, Whittier, Occidental, Hope, Rose-Hulman, Ill. Wesleyan, Mass.-Dartmouth and Carthage, 1; 69. (tie) Redlands and Johns Hopkins, 1/3.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

100-meter dash: 1. Stefan Mascoll, Cortland St., 10.53; 2. Ray Neosh, Coe, 10.76; 3. Shawn Moretti, Wis.-Stevens Point, 10.80; 4. Krishaun Gilmore, Rensselaer, 10.81; 5. Greg Boothe, Chris. Newport, 10.82; 6. Marty Van Dyke, Howard Payne, 10.83; 7. Wilmer Ray, Howard Payne, 10.85; 8. Hamilton Cuthrell, Methodist, 11.04.

200-meter dash (Due to a malfunction of the automatic timing system, times are not available): 1. Midsanon Lloyd, Ohio Wesleyan; 2. Tim Allsopp, Williams; 3. Stefan Mascoll, Cortland St.; 4. Krishaun Gilmore, Rensselaer; 5. Ray Neosh, Coe; 6. Eric Davis, Pomona-Pitzer; 7. Greg Boothe, Chris. Newport; 8. Joel Williams, North Central.

400-meter dash: 1. Rich Dixon, Rowan, 47.33; 2. Tim Allsopp, Williams, 47.38; 3. Sekou Dilday, Wheaton (Mass.), 47.72; 4. Midsanon Lloyd, Ohio Wesleyan, 47.82; 5. Michael Hallingstad, Wis.-Stout, 47.94; 6. Dave Whiteis, Wis.-La Crosse, 47.99; 7. Phil Vetterkind, Wis.-La Crosse, 48.62; 8. Charles Reid, Whittier, 48.93.

800-meter run: 1. Karl Paranya, Haverford, 1:48.26; 2. Eugene Kornilov, Mount Union, 1:49.80; 3. Brett Witt, Wis.-Stevens Point, 1:49.84; 4. Robert Mitchell, Amherst, 1:50.22; 5. Andre Bogle, Lincoln (Pa.), 1:50.23; 6. Chris Essick, Emory, 1:50.42; 7. Dan Virnig, Carleton, 1:50.51; 8. Geoff Getz, Brandeis, 1:50.53.

1,500-meter run: 1. Karl Paranya, Haverford, 3:46.67; 2. Eugene Kornilov, Mount Union, 3:47.48; 3. Tony Rizzo, North Central, 3:48.86; 4. Erik Dieckman, North Central, 3:49.39; 5. Brad Wilson, Wis.-La Crosse, 3:50.88; 6. Rhodes Walton, UC San Diego, 3:51.79; 7. Lee Doherty, Calvin, 3:52.90; 8. Aryn Davis, Haverford, 3:53.96.

3,000-meter steeplechase: 1. Brett Altergott, Wis.-La Crosse, 8:55.91; 2. Paul Gilles, Wis.-Stout, 8:56.34; 3. Ntobeko Ntusi, Haverford, 9:04.34; 4. Jason Capelli, Col. of New Jersey, 9:11.72; 5. Jack Kafel, North Central, 9:13.48; 6. Kristo Kriechbaum, Carnegie Mellon, 9:16.34; 7. Jeff Stiles, North Central, 9:16.81; 8. Aaron Cooper, Haverford, 9:17.19.

5,000-meter run: 1. Dave Cooper, Mount Union, 14:24.29; 2. Matt Thull, Wis.-Oshkosh, 14:39.79; 3. Matt Larsen, Wis.-Whitewater, 14:49.86; 4. Dion Braet, Wartburg, 14:51.47; 5. Tim Billo, Williams, 14:52.05; 6. Michael Taye, Frostburg St., 14:52.47; 7. Jamie Hibell, Allentown, 14:57.85; 8. Dan Bannink, Hope, 15:03.44.

10,000-meter run: 1. Dave Cooper, Mount Union, 30:17.89; 2. Matt Thull, Wis.-Oshkosh, 30:32.61; 3. Aaron Holley, Brandeis, 30:43.57; 4. Nathan Lewis, Calvin, 30:45.65; 5. Jon Gates, Mary Washington, 30:47.87; 6. Michael Northrop, Tufts, 30:49.87; 7. Michael Taye, Frostburg St., 30:50.41; 8. Dan Murphy, Wis.-La Crosse, 30:54.45.

110-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Tyrone Watkins, Lincoln (Pa.), 13.95; 2. Alonzo Wiggins, Lincoln (Pa.), 14.16; 3. Jewdyer Osborne, Binghamton, 14.23; 4. Brandon Schroer, Neb. Wesleyan, 14.41; 5. Chris Kirkman, Stillman, 14.49; 6. Brian Hauff, Neb. Wesleyan, 14.51; 7. Mason Rebarchek, Wis.-La Crosse, 14.55; 8. Jarmon Mayes, Chris. Newport, 14.67.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. William Cruz, Rowan, 51.67; 2. Tony Smith, Chris. Newport, 51.99; 3. Jarmon Mayes, Chris. Newport, 52.11; 4. Clifford Goss, Anderson (Ind.), 52.73; 5. Scott Brown, Bridgewater (Va.), 52.96; 6. Craig Anderson, Wis.-Stevens Point, 53.22; 7. Tyrone Watkins, Lincoln (Pa.), 53.51; 8. Nathan Busse, Pomona-Pitzer, 54.98.

400-meter relay: 1. Howard Payne (Wilmer Ray, Jerrell Davis, Sedric Medlock, Marty Van Dyke), 40.57; 2. La Verne, 40.77; 3. Lincoln (Pa.), 40.83; 4. Wis.-La Crosse, 40.88; 5. Wis.-Stout, 41.33; 6. Chris. Newport, 41.35; 7. North Central, 41.36; 8. Hunter, 41.53.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Lincoln (Pa.) (Eric Schmidt, Rashawn McMillan, Larry Lyerly, Robert Woolbright), 3:13.74; 2. Neb. Wesleyan, 3:14.11; 3. Wis.-Stevens Point, 3:15.49; 4. Carleton, 3:15.51; 5. Chris. Newport, 3:15.56; 6. Coe, 3:15.76; 7. Wartburg, 3:15.85; 8. Occidental, 3:17.96.

High jump: 1. Thomas Thompson, Lincoln (Pa.), 2.10 (6-103/4); 2. Jason Slaikeu, Wis.-Eau Claire, 2.05 (6-83/4); 3. Davon Lewis, Bridgewater (Va.), 2.05 (6-83/4); 4. Ben Douglas, Wis.-Stevens Point, 2.00 (6-63/4); 5. Mike Mead, Wis.-Stevens Point, 2.00 (6-63/4); 6. Brandon Schroer, Neb. Wesleyan, 2.00 (6-63/4); 7. Grant Jones, Ohio Northern, 2.00 (6-63/4); 8. (tie) Thomas Claiborne, Lincoln (Pa.); Ryan Bobko, Johns Hopkins; and Scott Nelson, Redlands, 2.00 (6-63/4).

Pole vault: 1. Mike Schnur, Wis.-La Crosse, 5.24 (17-21/4) [meet record; old record, 5.19 (17-01/4), Mike Schnur, Wis.-La Crosse, 1995, and Drew Orsinger, Coast Guard, 1995]; 2. Creed Stary, UC San Diego, 5.00 (16-43/4); 3. Chris Kaufman, Wis.-La Crosse, 4.90 (16-03/4); 4. (tie) Geoff Biegler, Wis.-La Crosse, and David Hill, Mount Union, 4.90 (16-03/4); 6. Jesse Maynard, Wis.-Stevens Point, 4.75 (15-7); 7. Ben Shaffer, Ohio Northern, 4.75 (15-7); 8. Ryan Loftus, Rose-Hulman, 4.75 (15-7).

Long jump: 1. Shawn Watson, Mount Union, 7.81 (25-71/2); 2. David Thompson, North Central, 7.42 (24-41/4); 3. Cliff Hall, Howard Payne, 7.41 (24-33/4); 4. Keyrn Gordon, Hunter, 7.23 (23-83/4); 5. Davon Lewis, Bridgewater (Va.), 7.06 (23-2); 6. Mike Hamilton, Wis.-Stevens Point, 7.06 (23-2); 7. Jeff Cizek, Neb. Wesleyan, 7.06 (23-2); 8. Nate Walker, Mount Union, 7.02 (23-01/2).

Triple jump: 1. Nigel Franklyn, Hunter, 15.03 (49-33/4); 2. Thomas Claiborne, Lincoln (Pa.), 14.97 (49-11/2); 3. Shawn Watson, Mount Union, 14.68 (48-2); 4. Eric Jones, Claremont-M-S, 14.56 (47-91/4); 5. Jason Walter, Rhodes, 14.56 (47-91/4); 6. Sylvain White, Pomona-Pitzer, 14.48 (47-61/4); 7. Brian Vannes, Wis.-La Crosse, 14.25 (46-9); 8. Troy Thompson, Emory, 14.16 (46-51/2).

Shot put: 1. Dennis Black, Upper Iowa, 17.11 (56-13/4); 2. Robert Grieco, Mass.-Boston, 16.88 (55-43/4); 3. Chris Sondgeroth, Monmouth (Ill.), 16.67 (54-81/4); 4. Nick Anderson, Simpson, 16.61 (54-6); 5. Servera Gilbert, Millikin, 16.49 (54-11/4); 6. Aaron Smith, Gust. Adolphus, 16.35 (53-73/4); 7. Russ Yurs, Wis.-Platteville, 16.28 (53-5); 8. Jason Dennis, Ill. Wesleyan, 15.92 (52-23/4).

Discus throw: 1. Zech Schiebout, Central (Iowa), 51.72 (169-8); 2. Ryan Carlson, Wis.-La Crosse, 50.80 (166-8); 3. Jason Lehman, Wis.-Stout, 50.42 (165-5); 4. Patrick Corthell, Springfield, 49.74 (163-2); 5. John Powers, Gust. Adolphus, 49.16 (161-3); 6. Erick Lehet, Wis.-La Crosse, 48.84 (160-3); 7. Chip Brundage, Simpson, 48.10 (157-10); 8. Joshua King, Tufts, 47.80 (156-10).

Hammer throw: 1. Jamie Brewster, Colby, 56.76 (186-3); 2. Bryan Cunningham, Wis.-Platteville, 56.58 (185-7); 3. Mike Pockoski, Worcester Tech, 54.60 (179-1); 4. Paul Kolter, Bates, 54.50 (178-10); 5. Ryan Carlson, Wis.-La Crosse, 54.20 (177-10); 6. Erick Lehet, Wis.-La Crosse, 53.64 (176-0); 7. Josh Black, Rensselaer, 53.60 (175-10); 8. Geoff Lambert, UC San Diego, 53.58 (175-9).

Javelin throw: 1. Quang Leba, Claremont-M-S, 61.56 (202-0); 2. Pat Madigan, Allegheny, 61.34 (201-3); 3. Warren Phillips, Allegheny, 60.32 (197-11); 4. Ed Colleton, Rowan, 60.18 (197-5); 5. Nick Guerette, Springfield, 59.78 (196-1); 6. John Lischner, Thiel, 59.38 (194-10); 7. Casey Pearce, Howard Payne, 58.92 (193-4); 8. Keith Rose, Mass.-Dartmouth, 57.76 (189-6).

Decathlon: 1. Joe Bedard, Lynchburg, 7,166; 2. Paul Elsen, Wheaton (Ill.), 7,067; 3. John David Stien, Calvin, 6,842; 4. Derek Sasaki-Scanlon, Williams, 6,781; 5. Brian Miller, Baldwin-Wallace, 6,737; 6. Jay Rhoten, Central (Iowa), 6,618; 7. Mike Schnur, Wis.-La Crosse, 6,509; 8. Matt Malich, Carthage, 6,447.