Oilers Battle on Day 1 of NCAA DII Track & Field National Championships
Indianapolis, Ind. - The University of Findlay men's and women's track and field teams took part in the first day of competition at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, March 10. The event is being held at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va.
Through one day of action, Findlay's men are in 11th in the country while the women sit in 25th.
One of the Oilers' best performances of the day came in the men's long jump where junior Eliot Cummings put together a standout effort in the event. With fouls on his first two jumps of the day, Cummings pulled through on his third, jumping a distance of 7.48m (24'6.5") which is a new school record and gave him third place in the event, good for first team all-American honors.
In women's pole vault, junior Lindsey Kluesener, already a multiple time all-American in the event, added to her trophy case. Ranked 11th entering the event, Kluesener cleared a height of 4.05m (13'3.5") on her third attempt, placing her in sixth place, good for first team all-American status.
An outdoor all-American in shot put last year, sophomore Trista Fintel had a solid showing in the women's weight throw as her third and final throw measured 17.80m (58'4.75") which was good for 13th.
The other final field action of the day came in the women's long jump where senior Simone Green took 14th as she jumped a distance of 5.54m (18'7").
Junior Jordan Foster had a good day in the men's one mile run as he completed the event in a time of 4:09.27. That time places him 11th overall and is good for second team all-American status.
Senior Josh Verhoff narrowly missed out on making the 200m finals, but did bring home ninth in the event with a time of 21.44, earning him second team all-American status.
Senior Xavier Marable ran in the 400m prelim and won his heat with a time of 47.71 and has qualified for tomorrow's final.
The second and final day of the meet will be tomorrow, Saturday, March 11.