Rivera and Cornelius earn All-American honors
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CANTON, N.Y. -- Nazareth junior thrower
Luis Rivera and St. John Fisher College junior Devin Cornelius each finished eighth in their respective events at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships at St. Lawrence University's Merrick-Pinkard Track & Field Complex on Friday to earn All-American honors.
Competing in the hammer throw, Rivera finished eighth to become Nazareth's first-ever outdoor field All-American. Entered as the last qualifier in the 20-man field, Rivera shattered his school record for the fifth time this spring with a heave of 58.58 meters (192 feet, 2 inches). That was more than four feet beyond his qualifying distance of 187 feet, 11 inches that he achieved at St. Lawrence three weeks ago.
Rivera had throws of 57.48 and 57.89 meters in the prelims to finish in the top nine and to reach the finals. He broke his record yet again with his next-to-last throw in the finals.
Rivera's performance capped a strong all-around year that also included a record-shattering indoor season. He also earned All-American honors indoors in the 35-pouind weight throw by placing sixth in that event at the national meet in March.
Cornelius became a two-time All-American with an eighth-place finish (6626 points) in the decathlon.
Cornelius started the day with a personal record in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.99 seconds to remain in third place where he left off on Thursday. The junior made his way through a couple of tougher events, placing 13th in the javelin (44.05 meters) and tied for seventh in the pole vault (4.00 meters) while recording 25.30 meters in the discus. He wrapped up the day with a fifth-place finish in the 1500 run (4:40.01) to seal the All-American status.
Cornelius earned the national recognition earlier this year when he placed fifth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championship.
Utica sophomore sprinter
Nicodemus Gambill placed 17
th Friday in the preliminary round of the 100 meter dash. Gambill clocked a preliminary time of 11.00 as he fell short of the final qualifying cut. Earlier this season, Gambill was named Empire 8 Athlete of the Meet at the conference championships after shattering two school and championship records in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.