Seven E8 Men Qualify for NCAA Indoor Championship
Men's qualifier list |
NCAA Release
The NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee announced Monday the participants in the 2016 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships.
For each men’s individual event contested, including the heptathlon, the top 15 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 12 declared relay teams, one per institution, were accepted into the competition.
The championships will be held March 11-12 at the Charles Benson Bear ’39 Recreation and Athletic Center in Grinnell, Iowa, with Grinnell College serving as the official host.
Nazareth senior Luis Rivera, an All-American both indoors and outdoors in 2015, is the top-ranked qualifier in the 35-pound weight throw with a top distance of 19.97 meters (65 feet, 6 1/4 inches). He reached that distance Feb. 6 at the Bomber Invitational. Rivera finished first in that event Saturday at the ECAC meet with a heave of 19.85 meters (65 feet, 1 1/2 inches). Rivera finished sixth in the weight throw at last year's national meet when he threw 19.29 meters.
Nazareth senior Tom Sippie, who won the national title in the 400-meter dash while running at Lynchburg in 2014, qualified in that event again with a time of :48.91 posted at the NYSCTC meet at Ithaca Feb. 26. That time ranks him 12th heading into the national meet.
Ithaca Andrew Brandt qualfied in the high jump and is seeded seventh at 2.10 meters. Brandt cleared the height Feb. 27 at the NYSCTC meet when he set a new facility record in the event and broke the school record that stood since 1986.
St. John Fisher College will be represented by Mark VanMarter, Kyle Koehler and Peter Girardi to the NCAA Championship.
VanMarter is currently seeded third overall in the long jump at 7.21 meters. He made that jump back on back on January 22
at the New York City Gotham Cup, setting a new Fisher record.
Koehler is ranked 10 overall in the shot put. His record-setting throw of 16.65 meters came on February 6
th, setting a facility record at the Ithaca College Bomber Invitational.
Girardi earned the 15
th and final spot in the 60-meter hurdles, thanks to his record-setting time of 8.22 seconds, set last month at the Empire 8 Conference Championship.
Utica junior Nicodemus Gambill will compete in the 60 meter and 200 meter dash at the national meet. He is seeded 11th in the 200 meter with a seed time of 22.11 that he set on Feb. 20th at the Utica Pioneer Invitational. Gambill ran a school and conference meet record time of 6.91 in the 60 meter on Feb. 13 at the Empire 8 Indoor Championship which ranks him 12th.