The NCAA News - News and Features

June 1, 1998

North Central sprints to III men's track title with record score

In the 24-year history of the Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, North Central never won an individual sprints title.

Given that, it was something of a surprise that the Cardinals claimed the 1998 title on the strength of their sprints corps.

David Thompson won the 200-meter dash and led the Cardinals to victory in the 400-meter relay as North Central scored 91 points to cruise to its third championship.

The championships were held May 21-23 at Macalester.

The Cardinals, who entered the championships with 15 individual-event titles, all in distance and field events, garnered 34 points in the sprints to outdistance runner-up Lincoln (Pennsylvania) by 18 points.

The Lions finished runner-up for the second straight year and ninth time in the last 13 years. Mount Union placed third for the second straight year, while Wisconsin-La Crosse and Rowan were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Thompson ended North Central's reputation as a distance-events-only school by racing to victory in the 200, setting the pace for the Cardinals' winning 400-meter relay, and recording a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash.

In addition to Thompson's heroics, the Cardinals also received a second-place showing from DuWayne Wright in the 400-meter dash.

While the Cardinals' sprints corps was a surprise, the distance corps turned in its usual stellar performance. Nine of North Central's 15 individual titles have come via the 1,500-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs.

With Jeff Stiles finishing second and third, respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter run, North Central accumulated 48 points in the five distance events.

Joining Stiles in the distance-events dominance were Matt Brill, second in the 10,000 and fifth in the 5,000; Erik Dieckman, third in the 1,500; Colin Young and Ryan Board, third and fourth, respectively, in the 10,000; and Tony Rizzo, fourth in the 1,500.

Mount Union's Dave Cooper and Thomas Thompson of Lincoln (Pennsylvania) were the championships' only two-event champions.

Cooper swept the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs for the second consecutive year to equal the standard set by Seamus McElligott of Haverford (1990-91) and matched by North Central's Dan Mayer (1993-94).

Thompson won his second straight high-jump crown and also added the triple-jump title. Thompson joined Pomona-Pitzer's Stan Watson (1981-82) as the only competitors to win back-to-back high-jump crowns.

Cooper's teammate, Shawn Watson, also joined the NCAA's all-time greats by claiming his third consecutive long-jump crown. Watson is the first Division III men's competitor and the third NCAA competitor ever to win three consecutive long-jump titles, joining Erick Walder of Arkansas (1992-94) and Cynthia Badgett of St. Augustine's (1989-91).

Repeat champions also included Rich Dixon of Rowan (400-meter dash), Brett Altergott of Wisconsin-La Crosse (3,000-meter steeplechase), Jamie Brewster of Colby (hammer throw), Joe Bedard of Lynchburg (decathlon) and the Lincoln (Pennsylvania) relay team of Robert Woolbright, Larry Lyerly, Roshawn McMillian and Steve Mitchell, who guided the Lions to their fourth consecutive crown in the event.

Brewster joined Thomas Lowell of Rensselaer (1975-76) as only competitors to win consecutive hammer-throw titles, while Altergott joined Jim Gathje of St. John's (Minnesota) (1985-86) and Williams' Marzuki Stevens (1995-96) as the only competitors to win consecutive steeplechase crowns.

Millikin's Carl Alexander (100-meter dash) claimed his school's first individual track title, while Binghamton's Jewdyer Osborne (110-meter high hurdles), Plattsburgh State's Chris Verkey (400-meter intermediate hurdles), and Matt Lemieux of John Carroll (pole vault) claimed their school's first outdoor track championships.