Championship Central l
Men's Results l
Women's Results
PUEBLO, Colo. –
Nick Jones of Abilene Christian University was denied his attempt at a rare double victory in the discus throw and shot put Saturday on the final day of the 50th annual NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships.
By a few inches (officially, 17 centimeters), Findlay's Derrick Vicars won the shot put with a throw of 62 feet, 10 inches (19.15 meters) in the DeRose ThunderBowl on the campus of Colorado State-Pueblo. Only four times in the 50-year history of the meet, including the first meet in 1963 in Chicago, had an athlete won both events.
And for the first time since 1981, there's a new champion in Division II men's track and field. Either Abilene Christian or St. Augustine's had claimed every team title since Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo's win in 1981 in Macomb, Ill., but they were denied here in 2012 on the campus of CSU-Pueblo.
Adams State, Colo., won its first NCAA Division II outdoor title with 77 points to 73 for runner-up Lincoln, Mo. St. Augustine's, N.C., and Western State, Colo., tied for third with 54 points, and Abilene Christian was fifth with 50 points after winning with 68 points last year in Turlock, Calif. Of those 30 titles since 1981, ACU won 19, and St. Augustine's captured 11.
Grand Valley State, Mich., repeated as champion of the women's division with 90 points after turning back a challenge from Lincoln (79) and Adams State (59). ACU was eighth with 25 points – 17 in running events and only 8 in field events. GVSU won with 78.5 last year.
The ACU women on Saturday got points from both relay teams, Lexus Williams ran sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in 13.39, and Ayesha Rumble placed fourth in the 800 meters in 2:12.65.
The women's sprint relay team ran 45.87 for fourth place, and the 1,600-meter relay team ran 3:44.06 for fifth place.
Jones -- the Wildcat who won his record-setting fourth title in the discus throw here Friday -- threw 62 feet, 3.25 inches (18.98 meters) in the second round, but he never improved. It appeared on his final throw that Jones would accomplish the rare double, but his throw (about 64 feet, 9 inches) hit the left sector line for a foul.
“This kid is a stud,” Vicars said of Jones. “He beat me indoors. I just knew he would throw further than me (on his last throw). And he did, but it was foul. It only takes one throw, and I got it today.”
Jones personally produced 18 of Abilene Christian's 34 points from the field events. Abilene Christian got only 16 points in the men's running events – eight from Dennis Bain, runner-up in the 110 hurdles (13.68), and eight from the runner-up 400-meter relay team (40.31).
“Derrick has been throwing huge all year,” Jones said of his friendly rival. “It was a great atmosphere. People were throwing PRs (personal records). I knew it was going to be a great competition.”
Of his final effort, Jones added, “It would have been a PR (his best is the Division II leader at 19.57 meters or 64-2.5). I drifted to the left too much. My leftside line was off. I felt real good after the discus. I just wanted to have fun and stay relaxed. I was not as nervous as I was yesterday (Friday in the discus).”
Both throwers got their best mark in the second round – Jones in flight one to take the early lead and Vicars in flight two to later overtake the ACU senior. Jones threw 61-6.75 in round three and 61-6.25 in round five with fouls in rounds four and six.
Vicars, who won the discus at this meet in 2010 when Jones was a redshirt, threw 59-0.75 in round three and 59-9.5 in round five and matched Jones with fouls in rounds four and six. The senior from Genoa, Ohio, was sixth in the hammer throw here Thursday, but failed to make the finals in the discus Friday.
The 2012 best in the shot put for the University of Cincinnati transfer is 63-9. The two 22-year-old shot putters are provisional qualifiers for the U.S. Olympic trials June 22-July 1 in Eugene, Ore. Jones is also provisional in the discus, and Vicars is also provisional in the hammer.
The Wildcat men had three other men in finals Saturday that failed to score. Paris Robertson was ninth in both short sprints (10.38 and 21.05), and Levance Williams, after winning the long jump Thursday, did not make the finals in the triple jump and finished 15th (48-4.5).
