NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships 2014

Men's Sprint Preview: NCAA D3 Champs

May 20, 2014 by Scott Rodilitz

MEN'S SPRINTS PREVIEW:

100 Meter Dash:
The Thurgood Dennis show stops here. The sensational junior from UW-Eau Claire has won three straight short sprint titles (2013 indoor 60, 2013 outdoor 100, and 2014 indoor 60), but he appears to have gotten hurt midway through the WIAC meet and has scratched from all events at nationals. Though competitors always dream of dethroning the champ, Bruce Gray of Greenville and Alex Koenen from UW-La Crosse will look to capitalize on his misfortune. Top-seeded Gray is a seasoned veteran and is now the top returner from last year’s 100 meter final. Meanwhile, Koenen is fresh off a third place finish in the 60 meter dash and will be looking to pick up some big points for the Eagles as they attempt to retain their indoor crown.

Third-seeded Kevin Johnson of Baldwin-Wallace and fourth-seeded Randy Lott of Virginia Wesleyan will be looking to finally make a big splash on the national scene. Johnson was the final All-American in the 60 indoors and Lott will be looking to make his first final at a national meet. Other competitors to watch are Glenn Taylor from Mary Washington, a freshman that has shown remarkable improvement in recent weeks, and Corey Broussard from UW-Whitewater, the runner-up in the 60. Broussard struggled to a 23.39 in the prelims of the 200 at the WIAC meet—the same meet that Dennis hurt himself during—and he also has not raced since. Though he has declared for the meet, his health could be a big question mark. Todd Paquin of Worcester St also could be a threat, as he ran 10.67 into a stiff headwind at the NEICAAA championships. However, I am a bit skeptical of those wind-readings, as many people set massive personal bests into the wind. My best guess is that those readings should be reversed, and that he actual had a 3.5 m/s tailwind.

Predictions: Koenen, Gray, Taylor

Full Field Below: (for many athletes, I included a wind-neutral time using conversion charts)

1	Bruce Gray	JR	Greenville	10.41	2^nd indoor 200, 4^th 60
2	Alex Koenen	SO	Wis.-La Crosse	10.43	3^rd in 60, 6^th in 100
3	Kevin Johnson	SR	Baldwin Wall	10.45	Last in 60 finals
4	Randy Lott	SR	Virginia Wes	10.5	Never made finals
5	Aaron Pannell	SR	Dickinson	10.52	10.74 is his 2^nd fastest legal
6	Eric Whipple	FR	Spalding	10.53	10.68 no wind
7	Jonathan Padron	SR	Occidental	10.55	10.68 no wind
8	Lucas Nare	JR	Thomas More	10.6	10.73 no wind
9	Gavin Colley	JR	Widener	10.61	10.72 no wind
10	Justin Meredith	SO	Albion	10.61	10.73 no wind
11	Malik Moffett	FR	PSU-Behrend	10.61	10.72 no wind
12	Naji Allan	SO	Wis.-Oshkosh	10.63	10.64 no wind
13	David Paynotta	SO	Wis.-River Falls	10.64	10.82 no wind
14	Joey Colucci	SO	Redlands	10.64	10.77 no wind
15	Aaron Jeong	JR	Wash & Lee	10.65	10.78 no wind
16	Glenn Taylor	FR	Mary Wash.	10.66	10.63 no wind, steeply improving
17	Melique Garcia	SR	Cortland St.	10.67	10.88 no wind
18	Todd Paquin	SR	Worcester St	10.67	10.4, NEICAAA's is suspect.
19	Robert Smith	JR	Gwynedd-Mercer	10.67	10.86 no wind
20	Corey Broussard	SO	Wis.-Whitewater	10.67	2nd indoor 60, DNF in 100 at WIAC's

200 Meter Dash:
Senior Bruce Gray of Greenville and freshman Eric Whipple of Spalding come in as the top two seeds, setting up a battle between experience and youth. Gray has run a division-leading 21.04—into a headwind no less—and has a penchant for providing dramatic finishes at nationals. He has raced in eight national finals and has finished within one hundredth of another competitor seven times. He has five top four finishes to his credit, but depending on the result of the 100, he could still be looking for his first ever national title. Whipple has put together an impressive freshman campaign and has consistently run in the mid-to-low 21-second range. He will be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come, but it does not seem like Gray is ready to pass the torch just yet.

In one of his trademark finishes, Gray edged out Chancise Watkins of La Verne for second in the indoor 200 meter dash, so the third-seeded Watkins will be looking to take his revenge this time around. Expect Lucas Nare of Thomas More, Randy Lott of Virginia Wesleyan, and Kevin Johnson of Baldwin Wallace to contend for a top three finish as well. All three of those competitors are seeded in the top eight of both the 200 and the 100. However, the biggest threat to break into the top three is sixth-seeded Joe Carr of Oneonta, who finished fourth indoors behind Dennis, Gray and Watkins and was an All-American last year outdoors.

Predictions: Gray, Watkins, Carr

Full Field Below:

1	Bruce Gray	JR	Greenville	21.04	Second indoors, third last year
2	Eric Whipple	FR	Spalding	21.07	Highly competitive frosh, has run 21.5 twice recently
3	Chancise Watkins	SR	La Verne	21.14	Third indoors, seventh last year
4	Lucas Nare	JR	Thomas More	21.17	Big improvements this year
5	Randy Lott	SR	Virginia Wes	21.18	Looking to make first NCAA finals
6	Joe Carr	SO	Oneonta	21.2	4th indoors, 8th outdoors last year
7	Kevin Johnson	SR	Baldwin Wall	21.25	Last in finals of indoor 60
8	Dorian Hayden	SO	Brockport St	21.34	Lost to Joe Carr but ran fast at Sunyacs
9	Tyler Austin	JR	Salisbury	21.37
10	Brian Espinosa	JR	Bridgewater	21.38	Last in finals of 200 indoors
11	James Hallwood	JR	Washington U	21.41	Also in 4x400
12	Melique Garcia	SR	Cortland St.	21.42	Also in 100
13	Cory Cox	SO	Buffalo Stat	21.43
14	Devonte Williams	FR	Stevenson	21.45	Steadily improving freshman could make a splash
15	Malik Moffett	FR	PSU-Behrend	21.49	Also in 100
16	Dylan Crafton	SR	Wis.-Whitewater	21.5	Also in 4x100
17	Benjamin Beidleman	SO	Baldwin Wall	21.52	Also in 4x100
18	Justin Meredith	SO	Albion	21.52	Also in 100
19	Chase Swisher	JR	Mount Union	21.54	Also entered in 400 and 4x400
20	James Wilson	JR	Monmouth (Ill)	21.57	Also in 400, 4x100, and 4x400

Men’s 400 Meter Dash:
A clash of California stars is brewing, with recent 400 powerhouses Whittier and La Verne both putting their best foot forward. Last year Whittier was seeded to go 1-2, and though that did not happen, Kevin Curbelo did emerge victorious. He comes in as only the eleventh seed with a time of 47.86, but has finished 4^th, 5^th, and 1^st at nationals in his previous three seasons. Chancise Watkins of La Verne is the top seed at 47.25, and unlike most West Coast DIII athletes, he raced indoors, though he contested the 200 instead of the 400.

Ninth-seeded Tom Sippie of Lynchburg cut over a second off his time at indoor nationals to win the 400 and will be hoping to once again pull off the big upset. He has run 47.84 this year. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Matt Melton of Amherst was the top seed indoors but failed to make the final. He will be hoping that his personal best of 47.71 will be enough to get him into the finals so he can put that disappointment behind him. Alexander Tallman of Washington and Lee will also be hoping to contend for top honors. He has run 47.35 this year and finished third in the indoor 400, behind Sippie and Joseph Jensen of Hamilton (who has not raced since then).

Top freshmen Isaac Smith of Augustana and Ross Denman of UW-La Crosse will be looking to make a name for themselves at the biggest meet of the year. Smith was a member of the second-place 4x400 team indoors and has run 47.66 this year. Denman was fourth indoors and won the WIAC championships, despite being the last qualifier for the finals. He comes in as the seventh seed with a time of 47.75. It would also be wise to keep an eye on Chase Swisher, a member of Mount Union’s 4x400 team that won the title indoors. He has run only one open 400: a 47.87 that qualified him for nationals.

Predictions: Watkins, Swisher, Denman

Full Field Below:

1	Chancise Watkins	SR	La Verne	47.25	Third seed in the 200 stepping up in distance
2	Alexander Tallman	SR	Wash & Lee	47.35	Third indoors, didn't run outdoors last year
3	Taylor Pasterski	SR	St. Norbert	47.44	48.32 is his second best time ever
4	William Lee	SO	MIT	47.53	Has not made finals in two attempts at the 400 at nationals
5	Isaac Smith	FR	Augustana (Ill)	47.66	Was on the 2nd place 4x400 team indoors
6	Matt Melton	SR	Amherst	47.71	Was the top seed indoors but didn't make finals
7	Ross Denman	FR	Wis.-La Crosse	47.75	Fourth indoors
8	Gui Silva	JR	Emory	47.81	Big PR, 48.41 is second fastest
9	Tom Sippie	SO	Lynchburg	47.84	Surprise indoor champ has continued to perform well
10	James Wilson	JR	Monmouth (Ill)	47.84	Also in 200, 4x100, and 4x400
11	Kevin Curbelo	SR	Whittier	47.86	Last year's outdoor champ has not been nearly as dominant
12	Chase Swisher	JR	Mount Union	47.87	Was on the Nat Champ 4x400 team indoors
13	Darren Centi	JR	Redlands	47.89
14	Justin Yates	JR	Wittenberg	47.9
15	Adam Turner	SO	Ohio Wesleyan	47.98	Also in 4x400
16	Jared Denu	JR	Wis.-Whitewater	48.06
17	Tyler Bourdo	JR	Trine	48.1
18	Joe Carr	SO	Oneonta	48.11	Has had more competitive success in the 200
19	Ethan Reschke	FR	Monmouth (Ill)	48.12	Also in 4x400
20	Donte Smith	JR	Methodist	48.21

Men’s 110 Hurdles:
Sitting atop the entry list is one of the most decorated hurdlers to never win a national title, Adam Scalesse of the Coast Guard Academy. Scalesse is a five time All-American and has two top-three finishes to his credit. However, to win the title he has been chasing for four years, he will have to dethrone the defending champion, sophomore Luke Campbell from Salisbury. Campbell won both the 110 hurdles outdoors and the 60 hurdles indoors, and he has equaled Scalesse’s 14.05 qualifying performance. Win or not, he will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of his career. Both will be looking for a win and their first ever sub-14 second clocking.

The runner-up indoors, Terrence Gibson of Worcester State, gave Scalesse a great race at the NEICAAA championships, losing only by thousandths of a second. He will be hoping to reverse that finish at nationals and make up for a poor race at ECAC’s last weekend. Ryan Lopez-Jordan of Marietta comes in as the third seed and beat Scalesse at both the indoor 60 hurdles and last year’s 110 hurdles with third and second place finishes, respectively. Those top four have separated themselves from the field, but it would be a good idea to keep an eye on TJ Valley of UW-Platteville. He has been an All-American three times indoors and may have finally figured out how to translate that success to the 110 meter distance.

Predictions: Campbell, Scalesse, Lopez-Jordan, no sub-14

Full Field Below:

1	Adam Scalesse	SR	Coast Guard	14.05	Third last year, fifth indoors
2	Luke Campbell	SO	Salisbury	14.05	Won last year as a frosh, won indoors
3	Ryan Lopez-Jordan	SR	Marietta	14.13	Second last year, third indoors
4	Terrence Gibson	JR	Worcester St	14.25	Fourth last year, second indoors
5	Jake Alviene	SO	Oneonta	14.45	Ninth in finals last year
6	Daniel Otto	SO	Wis.-La Crosse	14.51	Won WIAC's but struggled in last outing
7	TJ Valley	SR	Wis.-Platteville	14.52	Three time indoor AA, never outdoors
8	Ronnie Posthauer	JR	Wabash	14.56	Has been to 4 nationals but made finals only once
9	Conor Murtagh	SO	Bridgewater	14.57	Has broken 15 in ten straight races
10	Jonathan Hoff	SR	Whitworth	14.6	Consistent mid-to-high 14s recently
11	Marcus Griffith	SO	Benedictine	14.6	Consistent mid-to-high 14s recently
12	Joe DeRosier	SR	Wis.-La Crosse	14.61	Second at WIAC's
13	Mike Judd	SO	Wis.-Whitewater	14.61	Fifth at WIAC's
14	Corey Wilch	SR	Wis.-Oshkosh	14.62	Third at WIAC's, seeded fifth in the 400h
15	Max Kittle	JR	Anderson (In	14.65	Sixth last year, fourth indoors, seeded sixth in 400h
16	Casey Monahan	SR	Whitworth	14.67	Sixth indoors
17	Jarret McKallagat	SR	Bates	14.68	NESCAC champion
18	Jonah Peoples	FR	Greenville	14.68	Has only gone under 15 once
19	Patrick Kessenich	SR	Wis.-Platteville	14.68	Fourth at WIAC's
20	Chase Toliver	FR	Gwynedd-Mercer	14.71	5th at ECAC's to qualify

Men’s 400 Meter Hurdles:
David Voland of Augustana (Ill.) and Tyler Metille of Mount Union are the top two seeds and the only athletes to have broken 52 this year. Voland has run 51.38 as well as five other sub-52 clockings this season, so he should be considered a near-lock to finish in the top two. Metille has only run 51.50, but he is the defending champ and has not lost a 400 hurdles race in over a year. These two will be quite familiar with each other, as they both anchor their team’s 4x400 meter relays, two of the best in the country. Voland will be trying to make up for Augustana’s defeat at the hands of Mount Union indoors and send a message in advance of the rematch at the end of the meet.

Contenders in the race for third include Matthew Curtis of Rutgers-Camden, Luke Campbell of Salisbury, and Corey Wilch of UW-Oshkosh. Curtis comes in with a seed time of 52.35 and has been remarkably consistent over the years, while Campbell focuses on the 110 hurdles and is a bit of a wild card. He has only raced the 400 hurdles three times this year, with his best time being a 52.36. Wilch has had the best competitive success in the 400 hurdles out of the three: he is a two-time All-American and the back-to-back WIAC champ. He will be hoping to score some big points for the Titans as they try to move themselves up the podium.

Predictions: Metille, Voland, Wilch

Full Field Below:

1	David Voland	JR	Augustana (lll)	51.38	Third two years ago, 7th last year
2	Tyler Mettille	JR	Mount Union	51.5	10th two years ago, champ last year
3	Matthew Curtis	SR	Rutgers-Camden	52.35	NT two years ago, fifth last year
4	Luke Campbell	SO	Salisbury	52.36	Third last year, defending 110 hurdles champ
5	Corey Wilch	SR	Wis.-Oshkosh	52.41	Fourth two years ago, 8th last year
6	Max Kittle	JR	Anderson	52.51	Only ninth in 54.41 in most recent 400h race
7	Devon Hopkins	JR	Salisbury	52.61	Former multi-eventer seems to have finally found his calling
8	Alex Jelich	JR	Wis.-La Crosse	52.62	19th last year, big PR at theUW-Lax last chance meet
9	Byrum Louco	JR	Waynesburg	52.72	16th two years ago, 13th last year, only 7th at ECAC's
10	Jeremy Collins	SO	Southern Maine	52.73	Big improvements in May
11	Jarell Forbes	JR	RIC	52.89	17th last year, won ECAC's
12	Evan Zurbuchen	SR	Dubuque	53.13	Has improved by nearly 10 seconds over his four year career
13	Laike Wallace	SO	Wittenberg	53.19	Has run in the 53's four straight times, won NCAC's
14	Joel Whittington	JR	Wabash	53.2	16th last year, only third at NCAC championships
15	Rachad Davis	SR	Lynchburg	53.39	10th last year
16	Jake Wood	JR	Middlebury	53.39	Won NESCAC's but has struggled since
17	Michael Demby	SO	Gwynedd-Mercer	53.39	Skipped the 54's entirely with a big PR last week
18	Donald House	JR	Rutgers-Newark	53.43	14th last year, ran 52.53
19	Brad McNeil	JR	Anderson	53.46	Only 3rd at HCAC championships, lost to Kittle by ~2 seconds
20	Patrick Kessenich	SR	Wis.-Platteville	53.55	Also in 110 hurdles

Men’s 4x100 Meter Relay:
Led by 10.61 anchor Kevin Johnson, Baldwin Wallace comes in as the top seed and one of only two schools to dip under 41 seconds. La Verne, the other such school, will be hoping to get the baton to 200 and 400 contender Chancise Watkins first. The most dangerous man in the field is Bruce Gray, the top seed in both the 100 and the 200 and the pivotal member of Greenville’s sixth-ranked squad. UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater would normally be strong contenders, but with the health of Thurgood Dennis and Corey Broussard in doubt, both teams will be lucky to make finals.

There was a lot of turnover at the top of the performance lists, as only two schools that earned All-American honors last year will be sending teams again this year. UW-La Crosse finished third last year and are the top returning program. They are seeded fourth but they are led by Alex Koenen, the second-seed in the 100, and have a stellar supporting cast. Augustana (Ill.) is the only other school attempting to earn back-to-back All-American honors in the 4x100. They finished eighth last year and come in as the fifth seed this year, but they could be without David Devore, a 10.76 100 meter runner. Devore qualified individually for the 200 but did not declare, and Augustana opted to declare a lower-ranked 4x400 team that did not use him as a member.

Predictions: UW-La Crosse, Greenville, Baldwin Wallace

Full Field Below: (with all-time personal bests included)

1	Baldwin Wallace	40.61	11.05, 11.01, 10.82, 10.61 personal bests, 10.87 average
2	La Verne	40.84	11.15, 11.07, 10.76, 10.75 personal bests, 10.93 average
3	Occidental	41.05	11.45, 11.16, 11.02, 10.55 personal bests, 11.04 average
4	Wis.-La Crosse	41.06	10.86, 10.80, 10.72, 10.53 personal bests, 10.73 average
5	Augustana (Ill.)	41.1	11.04, 10.77, 10.76 (No time for Savage)
6	Greenville	41.16	11.05, 10.90, 10.77, 10.42 personal bests, 10.81 average
7	Wesley	41.2	11.14, 10.98, 10.85, 10.76 personal bests, 10.93 average
8	Monmouth (Ill.)	41.24	11.04, 10.92, 10.64 (No time for Brown)
9	Occidental	41.25	11.45, 11.16, 11.02, 10.55 personal bests, 11.05 average
10	Wis.-Eau Claire	41.26	11.12, 11.07, 10.99, 10.28 personal bests, 10.87 average
11	Mount Union	41.29	11.25, 10.97, 10.75 (No time for Metille)
12	Wis.-Whitewater	41.33	11.50, 10.80, 10.72, 10.67 personal bests, 10.92 average
13	Ohio Northern	41.44	11.82, 11.07, 10.88, 10.79 personal bests, 11.14 average
14	Washington and Lee	41.47	11.26, 11.10, 10.84, 10.82 personal bests, 11.01 average
15	Brockport St.	41.53	11.72, 11.31, 11.03, 10.78 personal bests, 11.21 average
16	Worcester State	41.56	11.35, 11.06, 10.88, 10.67 personal bests, 10.99 average

Men’s 4x400 Meter Relay:
Two of the pre-meet favorites could be missing vital team members: top seed and defending champion UW-Eau Claire will likely be without Thurgood Dennis, who has run 47.10, and Augustana (Ill) will be without David Devore, a member of the only Division III team to break 3:10 this year. This leaves the door wide open for Mount Union to defend their indoor title or for perennial contenders like MIT, UW-Oshkosh, or UW-La Crosse to break into the winner’s circle. All of those aforementioned teams have individual qualifiers in the 400 meter dash and would be tough to beat if their anchors get the baton in the lead.

Counting either UW-Eau Claire or Augustana out would be a mistake, though. UW-Eau Claire has plenty of pieces to substitute in for Dennis, and Augustana qualified three different relays into the meet, including one without Devore. They were the runners-up last year and indoors, so they will certainly be hungry for victory this time around. It would not surprise me if we saw a replay of the 400 meter hurdles play out on the final lap, with Augustana’a David Voland and Mount Union’s Tyler Metille battling it out down the home stretch. That said, the most man dangerous man in the field over the final lap would be William Lee of MIT, who has run 47.53 this year. He anchored his team to a fourth place finish indoors and will be looking for more this time around.

Predictions: A repeat of indoors—Mount Union, Augustana, UW-La Crosse

Full Field Below: (with all-time personal bests included)

1	Wis.-Eau Claire	3:10.53	49.37, 48.02 , 47.65, 47.10 personal bests, 48.04 average
2	Mount Union	3:11.99	48.64, 48.63, 48.10, 47.87 personal bests, 48.29 average
3	MIT	3:12.23	49.73, 48.79, 48.55, 47.53 personal bests, 48.65 average
4	Wis.-Oshkosh	3:12.38	48.75, 48.41, 48.27, 48.20 personal bests, 48.41 average
5	North Central (Ill.)	3:12.77	50.15, 49.03, 48.47, 48.24 personal bests, 48.97 average
6	Wis.-La Crosse	3:13.49	49.87, 49.74, 49.05, 47.75 personal bests, 49.10 average
7	Wabash	3:13.65	50.32, 49.72, 49.21, 48.82 personal bests, 49.52 average
8	Augustana (Ill.)	3:13.75	48.85, 48.81, 48.81, 47.66 personal bests, 48.53 average
9	Emory	3:14.26	50.42, 50.25, 49.31, 47.81 personal bests, 49.45 average
10	Ohio Wesleyan	3:14.29	51.38, 49.84, 49.42, 47.98 personal bests, 49.66 average
11	Monmouth (Ill.)	3:14.32	48.57, 48.12, 47.84 (No time for Parr)
12	Washington U.	3:14.38	49.67, 49.63, 48.91 (Hallwood has run infrequently)
13	Southern Maine	3:14.68	51.10, 49.52, 48.91, 48.37 personal bests, 49.48 average
14	Redlands	3:14.78	49.76, 48.53, 47.89 (No time for Tribble)
15	Nebraska Wesleyan	3:14.80	50.52, 49.00, 48.88, 48.82 personal bests, 49.31 average
16	Wesley	3:14.92	51.49, 50.78, 49.91, 49.30 personal bests, 50.37 average

Valencia Marathon

GVSU Holiday Open

Art Kadish Elm City Challenge

BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener

Jimmy Carnes Invitational

VA Showcase

GVSU Bob Eubanks Open

TBD vs Moravian

BU Battle in Beantown

William Sutherland Invitational

GVSU Mike Lints Alumni Meet

RADD Sports Invitational

Dr. MLK Jr. Collegiate Invitational

BU John Thomas Terrier Classic

New Mexico Team Open

Men's Sprint Preview: NCAA D3 Champs

Men's Sprint Preview: NCAA D3 Champs