In 1999, North Central scored only one point in the Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. This year, Lincoln (Pennsylvania) wishes it would have notched just one more point.

Instead, the two schools ended the May 25-27 meet at North Central with 52 points each for the first shared title in the 27-year history of the championships.

It took an unfortunate turn of events on Lincoln's part for the first-place tie to remain in place. The Lions' 1,600-meter relay unit had advanced to the final in the event, the last one of the championships, while North Central's team had not.

Typically, the top eight relay teams advance to the final and, with eighth place earning one point, Lincoln should have been in great shape to break the 52-52 deadlock. However, a ninth team was permitted to compete in the final due to a protest that was lodged during the heats.

Nonetheless, Lincoln was well on its way, near the lead as the final leg of the relay reached the last straightaway. At that point, the Lions' competitor suffered an injury. Even though he crossed the finish line, he did so in ninth place and the shared title was in the books.

"I live and die by Murphy's Law," said Lincoln head coach Cyrus Jones. "If anything can happen, it will.

"Certainly today was a bizarre ending, but being co-champions with North Central is an honor."

"Lincoln is an incredible, outstanding team and is very deserving of a national championship," said North Central head coach Al Carius. "For us, this is a tremendous accomplishment."

The title is Lincoln's sixth, pushing the Lions into the lead in Division III men's outdoor history. North Central earned its fourth championship.

Lincoln received first-place performances from Chaz Clemons in the 100-meter dash, Dayne Ross in the 200-meter dash and Christopher Cobbs in the 110-meter high hurdles, his second consecutive victory in the event. The Lions' 400-meter relay team of Roland Whiting, Clemons, Darnell Johnson and Ross also placed first in a meet-record 40.19 seconds.

North Central's effort was led by individual winners Tim McCoskey in the 1,500-meter run and Colin Young in the 10,000-meter run. In addition, Ed Riegert placed second in the 1,500 and third in the 800-meter run.

Joining Lincoln's 400 relay unit as record-setters were Raheim Greenridge of Wheaton (Massachusetts) in the high jump and Brad Parris of McMurry in the pole vault. Greenridge cleared the bar at 7 feet, 2 1Ž2 inches, and Parris soared 17 feet, 6 1Ž4 inches.

TEAM RESULTS

1. (tie) Lincoln (Pa.) and North Central, 52; 3. Central (Iowa), 38; 4. Wis.-La Crosse, 34 1Ž2; 5. Wis.-Oshkosh, 33; 6. (tie) Neb. Wesleyan and Wis.-Stevens Point, 32; 8. Wheaton (Mass.), 30; 9. Calvin, 28 1Ž2; 10. UC San Diego, 26; 11. Lynchburg , 23; 12 . Chris. Newport, 19; 13. Pacific Lutheran, 16; 14. St. Thomas (Minn.), 15; 15. Bates, 14; 16. (tie) Frostburg St., McMurry and Millikin, 12; 19. (tie) Rose-Hulman and Worcester St., 11; 21. (tie) Coe, Colby, Elmhurst, Ohio Wesleyan, Rensselaer, St. Olaf, Susquehanna and Willamette, 10; 29. (tie) Heidelberg, LaVerne and Wis.-Whitewater, 9; 32. Ill. Wesleyan, 8 1Ž2; 33. (tie) Claremont-M-S, Hamline, Ursinus, Washington (Mo.), Wis.-Eau Claire, Wis.-Platteville and Wooster, 8; 40. (tie) Allegheny, Col. of New Jersey, Plattsburgh St. and Springfield, 7; 44. (tie) John Carroll, Keene St., Macalester, Mount Union and St. John's (Minn.), 6; 49. (tie) Baldwin-Wallace, George Fox, Loras, Montclair St., North Park, Rowan and Wis.-Stout, 5; 56. (tie) Augustana (Ill.), Eastern Ore., MIT and Middlebury, 4; 60. Messiah, 3; 61. (tie) Bowdoin, Concordia-M'head, Delaware Valley, DePauw, Eastern Conn. St. and Williams, 3; 67. (tie) Monmouth (Ill.), Otterbein, St. Norbert and Widener, 2; 71. (tie) Dickinson, Dubuque, Puget Sound, Wabash, Westfield St. and Worcester Tech, 1.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

100-meter dash: 1. Chaz Clemons, Lincoln (Pa.), 10.47; 2. Dayne Ross, Lincoln (Pa.), 10.59; 3 Dante Myles, Frostburg St., 10.76; 4. Reggie Ray, Wooster, 10.77; 5. Courtney Powell, Wis.-Oshkosh, 10.81; 6. Stanley Egbor, Worcester St., 10.82; 7. Roman Cress, St. Thomas (Minn.), 10.85; 8. Greg Ortberg, Dubuque, 10.88.

200-meter dash: 1. Dayne Ross, Lincoln (Pa.), 21.13; 2. Stanley Egbor, Worcester St., 21.27; 3. Phil Sikkenga, Calvin, 21.43; 4. Kephyan Sheppard, LaVerne, 21.64; 5. Carl Alexander, Millikin, 21.70; 6. Reggie Ray, Wooster, 21.71; 7. Dan Tutskey, Wis.-La Crosse, 21.73; 8. Greg Knight, Wis.-La Crosse, 21.98.

400-meter dash: 1. Tyler Stillman, Ohio Wesleyan, 47.39; 2. Chris McCullough, Central (Iowa), 47.40; 3. Tommy Tavegia, Central (Iowa), 47.54; 4. Rich Dixon, Rowan, 47.82; 5. Steve Mitchell, Lincoln (Pa.), 47.96; 6. Adam McKahan, Wis.-La Crosse, 48.10; 7. Ben Dreyer, St. Norbert, 48.42; 8. Chvaun Johnson, Dickinson, 48.55.

800-meter run: 1. Elvis McCarter, Elmhurst, 1:50.11; 2. David Juiliano, Claremont-M-S, 1:50.20; 3. Ed Riegert, North Central, 1:50.57; 4. Tim McCoskey, North Central, 1:50.67; 5. Todd Gerwig, Heidelberg, 1:50.79; 6. Chris Downe, Bowdoin, 1:51.08; 7. Mark Bresnan, St. Olaf, 1:51.24; 8. Chris Horvat, Wis.-Stevens Point, 1:52.03.

1,500-meter run: 1. Tim McCoskey, North Central, 3:51.12; 2. Ed Riegert, North Central, 3:51.13; 3. Mark Miller, Keene St., 3:52.86; 4. Ryan Kollmann, St. Thomas (Minn.), 3:53.49; 5. Justin Wells, Wis.-Platteville, 3:53.78; 6. Adam Koppin, Heidelberg, 3:53.86; 7. Charles Califf, North Central, 3:53.98; 8. Matt Groose, Wis.-Oshkosh, 3:54.96.

3,000-meter steeplechase: 1. Abe Mendoza, Wis.-Oshkosh, 8:55.09; 2. Peter Morse, St. Olaf, 9:02.26; 3. Randy Krahulik, Neb. Wesleyan, 9:03.27; 4. Matt Twiest, Bates, 9:03.64; 5. Shane Suehring, Wis.-Stevens Point, 9:04.03; 6. Brandon Workman, George Fox, 9:05.40; 7. Justin Easter, Bates, 9:05.76; 8. Ross Substad, Wis.-La Crosse, 9:06.31.

5,000-meter run: 1. James Nielsen, UC San Diego, 14:34.97; 2. Tim Julien, Washington (Mo.), 14:37.07; 3. Dan Schwamberger, Wis.-Stevens Point, 14:39.77; 4. Joel Klooster, Calvin, 14:40.58; 5. Jesse Drake, Wis.-Stevens Point, 14:43.51; 6. Colin Young, North Central, 14:44.38; 7. Jeremy Burks, Wis.-Whitewater, 14:48.65; 8. Ryan Meissen, Wis.-Whitewater, 14:49.89.

10,000-meter run: 1. Colin Young, North Central, 30:27.01; 2. James Nielsen, UC San Diego, 30:37.92; 3. John Krueger, St. John's (Minn.), 30:38.46; 4. Jesse Drake, Wis.-Stevens Point, 30:40.54; 5. Chris McGuire, MIT, 30:41.98; 6. Michael Danahy, Bates, 30:46.87; 7. Thor Esbensen, Neb. Wesleyan, 31:00.90; 8. Dave Davis, Puget Sound, 31:05.03.

110-meter high hurdles: 1. Christopher Cobbs, Lincoln (Pa.), 14.21; 2. Jim Freeman, UC San Diego, 14.34; 3. Phil Sikkenga, Calvin, 14.40; 4. Brian Hauff, Neb. Wesleyan, 14.52; 5. Chris Verkey, Plattsburgh St., 14.53; 6. Isaac Fears, Baldwin-Wallace, 14.83; 7. Scott Stanton, Monmouth (Ill.), 14.90; 8. Craig Benson, St. Thomas (Minn.), 14.94.

400-meter intermediate hurdles: 1. Safwan Williams, Lynchburg, 51.73; 2. Yori Adegunwa, Ursinus, 51.74; 3. Stuart Elzy, Wis.-Whitewater, 52.31; 4. Craig Hancock, North Park, 52.39; 5. Philip Reksel, Rose-Hulman, 52.40; 6. Chris Verkey, Plattsburgh St., 52.41; 7. Eric Klinker, Macalester, 52.72; Matt Collins, Westfield St., disqualified.

400-meter relay: 1. Lincoln (Pa.) (Roland Whiting, Chaz Clemons, Darnell Johnson, Dayne Ross), 40.19 [meet record: old record 40.39, Frostburg St. (Joe Barber, Leonard Wright, Carlos Acker, Steve Terry), 1986]; 2. Central (Iowa), 40.98; 3. Frostburg St., 41.01; 4. Wis.-Stevens Point, 41.43; 5. LaVerne, 41.53; 6. St. Thomas (Minn.), 41.62; Widener, did not finish; Neb. Wesleyan, disqualified.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Central (Iowa) (Nate Koerselman, Adam Hartford, Tommy Tavegia, Chris McCullough), 3:09.64; 2. Calvin, 3:09.85; 3. Lynchburg, 3:10.92; 4. Wis.-La Crosse, 3:10.93; 5. St. Thomas (Minn.), 3:12.60; 6. Neb. Wesleyan, 3:14.26; 7. Coe, 3:18.14; 8. Wis.-Stevens Point, 3:19.46.

High jump: 1. Raheim Greenridge, Wheaton (Mass.), 2.20 (7-2 1Ž2) [meet record: old record 2.19 (7-2 1Ž4), Tracy Garner, Albion, 1983]; 2. Shannon King, Wis.-Oshkosh, 2.15 (7-0 1Ž2); 3. Mike Mead, Wis.-Stevens Point, 2.10 (6-10 3Ž4); 4. Kurt Heilman, Wis.-Eau Claire, 2.10 (6-10 3Ž4); 5. (tie) Chris Boyles, Messiah, and Derek Kleinheksel, Calvin, 2.05 (6-8 3Ž4); 7. Andy Johnson, Otterbein, 2.05 (6-8 3Ž4); 8. Pete Wagner, Central (Iowa), 2.00 (6-6 3Ž4).

Pole vault: 1. Brad Parris, McMurry, 5.34 (17-6 1Ž4) [meet record: old record 5.24 (17-2 1Ž4), Mike Schnur, Wis.-La Crosse, 1997]; 2. (tie) Jeremy Scott, Allegheny, and Andrew Schipper, Rose-Hulman, 4.95 (16-2 3Ž4); 4. Jamie Buchholtz, Wis.-Stout, 4.95 (16-2 3Ž4); 5. Jason Follett, Eastern Ore., 4.95 (16-2 3Ž4); 6. (tie) Chad Jaeger, Wis.-La Crosse, and Ryan Kane, North Central, 4.80 (15-9); 8. (tie) Steve Zimmerman, Ill. Wesleyan, and Jason Tracy, North Central, 4.80 (15-9).

Long jump (w indicates wind aided): 1. Rob Tyson, Wheaton (Mass.), 7.76 (25-5 1Ž2); 2. Carl Alexander, Millikin, 7.57w (24-10); 3. Damon Talley, Chris. Newport, 7.50 (24-7 1Ž4); 4. Jason Buckbee, Neb. Wesleyan, 7.22w (23-8 1Ž4); 5. Ray Smith, Wheaton (Mass.), 7.18 (23-6 3Ž4); 6. Jason Edwards, Eastern Conn. St., 7.05 (23-1 3Ž4); 7. Ed Wheeler, Montclair St., 7.04 (23-1 1Ž4); 8. James Goss, Lynchburg, 6.95 (22-9 3Ž4).

Triple jump: 1. Shannon King, Wis.-Oshkosh, 15.25 (50-0 1Ž2); 2. Steven Roberts, Chris. Newport, 15.05 (49-4 1Ž2); 3. Raheim Greenridge, Wheaton (Mass.), 14.99 (49-2 1Ž4); 4. Damon Talley, Chris. Newport, 14.49 (47-6 1Ž2); 5. Kajereru Ssebbaale, Macalester, 14.32 (46-11 3Ž4); 6. Tommy Ngo, Wis.-Eau Claire, 14.22 (46-8); 7. Joe Conduah, Heidelberg, 14.10 (46-3 1Ž4); 8. Modou Jagne, Wabash, 14.00 (45-11 1Ž4).

Shot put: 1. Luis Moroney, Wis.-La Crosse, 16.90 (55-5 1Ž2); 2. Jason Dennis, Ill. Wesleyan, 16.84 (55-3); 3. Chris Basich, Mount Union, 16.56 (54-4); 4. Paul Catley, Col. of New Jersey, 16.14 (52-11 1Ž2); 5. David Dempsey, Augustana (Ill.), 16.14 (52-11 1Ž2); 6. Nick Gregorio, Montclair St., 16.09 (52-9 1Ž2); 7. Dan Kuehn, Wis.-Platteville, 15.90 (52-2); 8. Damian Larkins, Springfield, 15.85 (52-0).

Discus throw: 1. Josh Beaver, Neb. Wesleyan, 52.92 (173-7); 2. Ben Nyquist, Hamline, 51.88 (170-2); 3. Chad Stein, John Carroll, 49.96 (163-11); 4. Adam Moodie, North Central, 49.12 (161-2); 5. Bill Monette, Rensselaer, 49.08 (161-0); 6. Colin Smith, DePauw, 48.16 (158-0); 7. Ian Strauss, George Fox, 47.78 (156-9); 8. Jon Rhiddlehoover, McMurry, 46.72 (153-3).

Hammer throw: 1. Jamie Brewster, Colby, 58.94 (193-4); 2. Ryan Dirks, Pacific Lutheran, 58.04 (190-5); 3. Mike Pestilli, Rensselaer, 56.56 (185-7); 4. Mike Campbell, Wis.-La Crosse, 56.24 (184-6); 5. Lucas Adams, Bates, 56.10 (184-1); 6. Matt Campanelli, Williams, 54.50 (178-10); 7. Dave Hahn, Wis.-Platteville, 54.40 (178-6); 8. James Hammond, Worcester Tech, 54.10 (177-6).

Javelin throw: 1. Adam Ressler, Susquehanna, 67.52 (221-6); 2. Bryce Berkompas, Coe, 63.28 (207-7); 3. Nick Guerrette, Springfield, 62.24 (204-2); 4. Chris Curry, Loras, 60.24 (197-8); 5. Bryan Black, Middlebury, 60.12 (197-3); 6. Robert Woodring, Delaware Valley, 59.68 (195-9); 7. Mike Polulak, Col. of New Jersey, 57.80 (189-7); 8. Cale Melton, McMurry, 57.28 (187-11).

Decathlon: 1. Jimmy Watts, Willamette, 7,384; 2. Shipley Ennis, Pacific Lutheran, 7,196; 3. James Goss, Lynchburg , 6,621; 4. Andy Basler, Wis.-La Crosse, 6,594; 5. Sean Clark, Central (Iowa), 6,575; 6. Adam Strainer, Concordia-M'head, 6,486; 7. Jeremy Brown, Baldwin-Wallace, 6,431; 8. Pete Wagner, Central (Iowa), 6,429.