Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed a record fifth straight title by winning two events and scoring points in six other events during the Division III Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships March 11-12 at Illinois Wesleyan.

The Eagles, who have won a total of 12 championships during the meet's 21-year history, successfully defended their title in the 1,600-meter relay and also captured the 400-meter dash for the fourth straight year.

Wisconsin-La Crosse scored in every final during the meet's second day to total 53 points and ultimately cruise to a 15-point victory over runner-up Lincoln (Pennsylvania).

Such smooth sailing was far from certain, however, entering the second day of competition, especially after one of the favorites in the weight throw, the Eagles' Kevin Beckett, fouled out in that Day 1 event.

"We weren't sure we had enough bullets left in the chamber after yesterday," Wisconsin-La Crosse coach Mark Guthrie told the Bloomington (Illinois) Pantagraph upon claiming his 20th overall championship, indoors and outdoors.

"As dark and disappointing as yesterday was, today was tremendous."

The Eagles' effort was capped by Nate Olson's .06-second victory over Lincoln's Bobby Young in the 400 meters. Olson also ran the third leg on the Eagles' victorious 1,600-meter relay.

But Wisconsin-La Crosse also collected important points from second-place finishes by Herc Hyland in the triple jump and Nick Pergande in the pole vault.

Wisconsin-Platteville posted its best finish at the championships, nipping Nebraska Wesleyan by one point for third place with victories by Ryan Kleimenhagen in the 800-meter run and the championships' inaugural mile run. Kleimenhagen's teammate, Tyler Sigl, ran a close second in the mile.

Other noteworthy individual performances included a third straight victory in the 55-meter hurdles by Dubuque senior Basil Steele. He joined Frostburg State's Maynard Hurd as the only three-time winners of the event.

MIT junior Uzoma Orji, who won the shot put at last year's championships, added a weight throw title this year and made it a record toss. His throw of 19.74 meters (64 feet, 91/ 4 inches) after two fouls beat a nine-year-old mark held by Williams' Ethan Brooks.

Other winners included Widener's Macharia Yuot, a recipient earlier this year of an NCAA Inspiration Award as one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," who claimed his first title at 5,000 meters.

Team results

1. Wis.-La Crosse, 53; 2. Lincoln (Pa.), 38; 3. Wis.-Platteville, 33; 4. Neb. Wesleyan, 32; 5. North Central (Ill.), 27; 6. Wis.-Oshkosh, 25; 7. (tie) Wis.-Whitewater and New Jersey City, 19; 9. MIT, 17; 10. St. Thomas (Minn.), 16; 11. Otterbein, 151/ 2; 12. Dubuque, 14; 13. Widener, 12; 14. Loras, 111/ 2; 15. (tie) Tufts, Montclair St., McMurry, Farmingdale and Central (Iowa), 10; 20. (tie) Keene St. and Greenville, 9; 22. Wis.-Stevens Point, 81/ 2; 23. (tie) Cortland St., Chris. Newport and Brandeis, 8; 26. (tie) TCNJ and Bowdoin, 7; 28. (tie) Wis.-Eau Claire, Mount Union, Ill. Wesleyan, Fisk, Buffalo St., Amherst and Allegheny, 6; 35. (tie) St. Norbert, Geneseo St. and Bates, 5; 38. (tie) Westfield St., Rhode Island Col., Oneonta St., Lynchburg and Haverford, 4; 43. (tie) York (N.Y.), Wartburg, Rochester, Rensselaer and Plattsburgh St., 3; 48. (tie) Trinity (Conn.) and Mass.-Dartmouth, 2; 50. (tie) St. John's (Minn.) and Rowan, 1; 52. Marietta, 1/ 2.

Individual champions

55-meter dash: 1. Anthony Miles, New Jersey City, 6.35.

400-meter dash: 1. Nate Olson, Wis.-La Crosse, 48.11.

800-meter run: Ryan Kleimenhagen, Wis.-Platteville, 1:52.98.

Mile run: 1. Ryan Kleimenhagen, Wis.-Platteville, 4:16.49.

5,000-meter run: 1. Macharia Yuot, Widener, 14:34.72.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Wis.-La Crosse (Jeremy Deterville, Tony Marcinek, Nate Olson, Nolan Hietpas), 3:15.87.

Distance medley relay: 1. Neb. Wesleyan (Vince Sickler, Evan Knight, Blake Henning, Aaron Dye), 10:06.42.

55-meter high hurdles: 1. Basil Steele, Dubuque, 7.43.

High jump: 1. Cale VanGenderen, Central (Iowa), 2.11 (6-11).

Pole vault: 1. Chris Swanson, Otterbein, 5.32 (17-51/2).

Long jump: 1. Andre Brown, Farmingdale, 7.26 (23-10).

Triple jump: 1. Aaron Henderson, Wis.-Whitewater, 14.78 (48-6).

Shot put: 1. Cody Brotherton, McMurry, 18.05 (59-23/4).

35-lb. weight throw: 1. Uzoma Orji, MIT, 19.74 (64-91/4) [meet record; old record 19.42 (63-83/4), Ethan Brooks, Williams].

Team results

1. Wis.-La Crosse, 53; 2. Lincoln (Pa.), 38; 3. Wis.-Platteville, 33; 4. Neb. Wesleyan, 32; 5. North Central (Ill.), 27; 6. Wis.-Oshkosh, 25; 7. (tie) Wis.-Whitewater and New Jersey City, 19; 9. MIT, 17; 10. St. Thomas (Minn.), 16; 11. Otterbein, 15 1/2; 12. Dubuque, 14; 13. Widener, 12; 14. Loras, 11 1/2; 15. (tie) Tufts, Montclair St., McMurry, Farmingdale and Central (Iowa), 10; 20. (tie) Keene St. and Greenville, 9; 22. Wis.-Stevens Point, 8 1/2; 23. (tie) Cortland St., Chris. Newport and Brandeis, 8; 26. (tie) TCNJ and Bowdoin, 7; 28. (tie) Wis.-Eau Claire, Mount Union, Ill. Wesleyan, Fisk, Buffalo St., Amherst and Allegheny, 6; 35. (tie) St. Norbert, Geneseo St. and Bates, 5; 38. (tie) Westfield St., Rhode Island Col., Oneonta St., Lynchburg and Haverford, 4; 43. (tie) York (N.Y.), Wartburg, Rochester, Rensselaer and Plattsburgh St., 3; 48. (tie) Trinity (Conn.) and Mass.-Dartmouth, 2; 50. (tie) St. JohnÕs (Minn.) and Rowan, 1; 52. Marietta, 1/2.

Individual results

55-meter dash: 1. Anthony Miles, New Jersey City, 6.35; 2. Nick Wetherby, Cortland St., 6.39; 3. Augustine Schmader, Lincoln (Pa.), 6.41; 4. Tony Williams, Montclair St., 6.42; 5. Bret Blake, Neb. Wesleyan, 6.44; 6. Brandon Tripp, Greenville, 6.44; 7. Matthew Harden, Ill. Wesleyan, 6.44; 8. Bobby Young, Lincoln (Pa.), 6.66.

400-meter dash: 1. Nate Olson, Wis.-La Crosse, 48.11; 2. Bobby Young, Lincoln (Pa.), 48.17; 3. Ernest Gibson, Fisk, 48.74; 4. Travis Yancey, Montclair St., 49.06; 5. Michael Lansdowne, Lynchburg, 49.36; 6. Anthony Campbell, New Jersey City, 49.64; 7. Greg Memmesheimer, North Central (Ill.), 49.75; Xavier Garcia, Colby, (disqualified).

800-meter run: Ryan Kleimenhagen, Wis.-Platteville, 1:52.98; 2. Ryan Parker, Brandeis, 1:53.52; 3. Jeff Zodda, TCNJ, 1:54.13; 4. Colin McKean, St. Norbert, 1:54.66; 5. Emmanual Karngar, Rhode Island Col., 1:54.99; 6. Joe Otto, Rensselaer, 1:55.06; 7. Tom Walsh, Trinity (Conn.), 1:56.07; 8. Michael Brown, York (N.Y.), 1:57.09.

Mile run: 1. Ryan Kleimenhagen, Wis.-Platteville, 4:16.49; 2. Tyler Sigl, Wis.-Platteville, 4:17.12; 3. Dave Bridgewater, Keene St., 4:17.88; 4. Andrew Combs, Bowdoin, 4:18.81; 5. Mike Herlihy, Wis.-La Crosse, 4:19.30; 6. Matt DeShane, Plattsburgh St., 4:19.32; 7. Joe Francisco, Widener, 4:20.37; 8. Matt Molski, TCNJ, 4:20.69.

5,000-meter run: 1. Macharia Yuot, Widener, 14:34.72; 2. Mark Lalonde, Wis.-Stevens Point, 14:36.67; 3. Kevin Pool, Allegheny, 14:37.66; 4. Ted Turner, Geneseo St., 14:37.73; 5. Pat Rizzo, North Central (Ill.), 14:37.90; 6. Josh Moen, Wartburg, 14:40.18; 7. Joel Anderson, Bates, 14:41.00; 8. Nathan Brigham, Tufts, 14:46.76.

55-meter high hurdles: 1. Basil Steele, Dubuque, 7.43; 2. Greg Bolton, Chris. Newport, 7.46; 3. Richard Harris, Buffalo St., 7.49; 4. Pierre Chapman, Lincoln (Pa.), 7.52; 5. Zach Gorsage, Ill. Wesleyan, 7.55; 6. Johnnie Taylor, New Jersey City, 7.62; 7. Jonathan Garcia, Mass.-Dartmouth, 7.68; 8. (tie) John Fudge, Lincoln (Pa.), and Denay Caldwell, New Jersey City, 8.41.

1,600-meter relay: 1. Wis.-La Crosse (Jeremy Deterville, Tony Marcinek, Nate Olson, Nolan Hietpas), 3:15.87; 2. St. Thomas (Minn.), 3:16.19; 3. Lincoln (Pa.), 3:18.61; 4. Neb. Wesleyan, 3:19.63; 5. Oneonta St., 3:19.71; 6. North Central (Ill.), 3:20.39; 7. Bates, 3:20.41; 8. Loras, 3:21.39.

Distance medley relay: 1. Neb. Wesleyan (Vince Sickler, Evan Knight, Blake Henning, Aaron Dye), 10:06.42; 2. North Central, 10:07.98; 3. Amherst, 10:08.54; 4. Wis.-Oshkosh, 10:08.57; 5. Haverford, 10:09.14; 6. Keene St., 10:11.87; 7. Bowdoin, 10:12.21; 8. Tufts, 10:12.34.

High jump: 1. Cale VanGenderen, Central (Iowa), 2.11 (6-11); 2. Joe Thomas, St. Thomas (Minn.), 2.08 (6-9 3/4); 3. (tie) Bill Myers, Otterbein, and Andy Stoecken, Loras, 2-05 (6-8 3/4); 5. David Richardson, Westfield St., 2.05 (6-8 3/4); 6. Eric Belancic, Mount Union, 2.02 (6-7 1/2); 7. Phil Vargas, Wis.-La Crosse, 2.02 (6-7 1/2); 8. (tie) Mitch Ellis, Wis.-Stevens Point, and Chris Taylor, Marietta, 2.02 (6-7 1/2).

Pole vault: 1. Chris Swanson, Otterbein, 5.32 (17-5 1/2); 2. Nick Pergande, Wis.-La Crosse, 5.22 (17-1 1/2); 3. Brian DeLoriea, North Central (Ill.), 5.12 (16-9 1/2); 4. Matt Novak, Wis.-La Crosse, 5.12 (16-9 1/2); 5. Kyle Stumpenhorst, North Central (Ill.), 5.02 (16-5 1/2); 6. Shannon Bennington, Mount Union, 4.92 (16-1 3/4); 7. Nathan Ball, MIT, 4.92 (16-1 3/4); 8. Derek Zulkoski, Neb. Wesleyan, 4.92 (16-1 3/4).

Long jump: 1. Andre Brown, Farmingdale, 7.26 (23-10); 2. Fred Jones, Tufts, 7.24 (23-9); 3. Eric Ray, Lincoln (Pa.), 7.10 (23-3 1/2); 4. (tie) Herc Hyland, Wis.-La Crosse, and Geoff Kaiser, Loras, 7.08 (23-2 3/4); 6. Jed Droge, Neb. Wesleyan, 7.05 (23-1 3/4); 7. Anthony Miles, New Jersey City, 7.02 (23-0 1/2); 8. Hyron Griffith, New Jersey City, 6.99 (22-11 1/2).

Triple jump: 1. Aaron Henderson, Wis.-Whitewater, 14.78 (48-6); 2. Herc Hyland, Wis.-La Crosse, 14.61 (47-11 1/4); 3. Bryson Taylor, Greenville, 14.60 (47-10 3/4); 4. Yudehwheh Gbaa, Lincoln (Pa.), 14.55 (47-9); 5. DeAndre Bovan, Dubuque, 14.44 (47-4 1/2); 6. Tyler Gingery, Neb. Wesleyan, 14.37 (47-1 3/4); 7. Donnell Hickson, York (N. Y.), 14.29 (46-10 3/4); 8. Paul Ferber, St. JohnÕs (Minn.), 14.22 (46-8).

Shot put: 1. Cody Brotherton, McMurry, 18.05 (59-2 3/4); 2. Brandon Houle, Wis.-Oshkosh, 17.84 (58-6 1/2); 3. John Schuna, Wis.-Eau Claire, 17.17 (56-4); 4. Uzoma Orji, MIT, 17.16 (56-3 3/4); 5. Ryan Tietjen, Neb. Wesleyan, 16.78 (55-0 3/4); 6. Ross Kapp, Wis.-Whitewater, 16.65 (54-7 1/2); 7. Bobby Riley, Wis.-La Crosse, 16.58 (54-4 3/4); 8. Robert Godfrey, Rowan, 16.41 (53-10 1/4).

35-lb. weight throw: 1. Uzoma Orji, MIT, 19.74 (64-9 1/4) [meet record; old record 19.42 (63-8 3/4), Ethan Brooks, Williams, 1996]; 2. Brandon Houle, Wis.-Oshkosh, 18.99 (62-3 3/4); 3. Ross Kapp, Wis.-Whitewater, 18.87 (61-11); 4. Jim Uppena, Wis.-Platteville, 17.97 (58-11 1/2); 5. Steve Pratt, Wis.-Oshkosh, 17.88 (58-8); 6. Andrew Wunder, Rochester, 17.66 (57-11 1/4); 7. Ryan Tietjen, Neb. Wesleyan, 17.66 (57-11 1/4); 8. Dustin Gauthier, Bates, 17.59 (57-8 1/2).