CHARLOTTE, N.C. – More All-American honors and pair of national title winners were crowned in the final two days of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Irwin Belk Complex on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University.
After Walsh’s Marcus Myers (hammer throw) stood atop the podium and four All-Americans (Daniel Capek, Alexandra Whitford, Ashton Dulin, Janelle Perry) were placed in the top 12 finishers of several events.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference stamped its impact on the national meet on Friday and Saturday as Sarah Berger of Walsh and Janelle Perry of Ursuline took their turns to emerge as respective national champions.
Berger chased down an elusive national title in the 1,500-meter run, an appropriate ending for her illustrious career as a Cavalier.
Berger clocked a 4:22.22 to win by over one second against Addy Townsend of Simon Fraser. Berger went into nationals as the overall top seed in the 1,500, but still proved she was the best by showing no signs of pressure.
Going into her first race, Berger had already been named the Great Midwest Outdoor Track Athlete of the Meet/Year and the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year. She was also voted the Great Midwest Female Collegiate Achievement Award winner at the league’s spring banquet last week.
Berger then left it all on the track in her second race of the day, finishing ninth in the 5K for additional All-American hardware. Teammate Andra Lehotay, just a sophomore, continued to shine in her own right with a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 for All-American placement.
Perry, the reigning Great Midwest Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, beat out the field in the 100-meter hurdles finals with a time of 13.35 to edge San Francisco State’s Monisha Lewis (13.41).
In another impressive showing from the league, a second Great Midwest student-athlete grabbed All-American status in the 100-meter hurdles as Findlay senior Milani Glass crossed the line in 13.71 for seventh place.
Perry successfully defended her 100-meter hurdles outdoor title from a year ago and is now a three-time national champion and eight-time indoor/outdoor All-American.
Cedarville rookie Tommy Ansiel, the lone first-year student-athlete in the men’s pole vault field, ascended to All-American status as a freshman with an 11th-place finish. Ansiel cleared 4.88m (16’). Yellow Jackets teammate Trent Classen took 10th in the 3K steeplechase for another Cedarville All-American finish.
Myers would continue to make his mark in the field events with a seventh-place finish in the discus throw while two Findlay Oilers earned All-American awards in different field events. Findlay freshman Martin Etsey finished 12th in the triple jump and sophomore thrower Hannah Hahler had a ninth-place performance in the shot put.
The final Great Midwest track and field records document will be updated on Monday to close out the 2017-18 season.