At a glance
Alfred State is ready to host the 2012 NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The three-day event begins on Thursday morning and runs until Saturday afternoon when the National Champion is crowned. In total 22 teams and 335 athletes are slated to compete in the competition held at Pioneer Stadium.
Alfred State is ready to host the 2012 NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The three-day event begins on Thursday morning and runs until Saturday afternoon when the National Champion is crowned. In total 22 teams and 335 athletes are slated to compete in the competition held at Pioneer Stadium.
The host Pioneers enter the National Championships with the men ranked #3 in the country and the women ranked #5. Pole vaulter David Miller (Elmira Southside) is ranked #1 in the country with a 4.55 m seed mark while Alex Hewlett (Wellsville) is ranked #1 in the javelin throw with a seed mark of 49.20 m.
Other top Pioneers include; Travis Nagle (Randolph) is ranked 2nd in the decathlon (5,227 points), Briana Dorsey (Rochester/School of the Arts), is ranked 3rd in the 200 (26.27), Tara Murphy (Rochester/Wilson) is ranked 3rd in the 400 (59.18), Kayla Franchina (Cassadaga Valley) is ranked 3rd in the heptathlon (2,520 points), Jayvon Larkin (Rochester/Wilson) is ranked 3rd in the triple jump (13.85 m), Brian Edwards (Tri-Valley) is ranked 3rd in the shot put (14.17 m), and Megan Votava (Alfred Almond) is ranked 4th in the pole vault (2.72 m) and 4th in the 100 hurdles (17.05).
The Pioneer relays teams will also be in contention for All-American status. The women's 4x100 (51.63) and the 4x800 (10:24.39) relay teams are ranked 3rd while the men's 4x100 relay team is ranked 4th (43.48).
Harper (IL) College returns to the competition as the defending national champions on both the men's and women's side.
In the final poll prior to the championships, Mohawk Valley CC sits on top of the women's poll followed by SUNY Delhi, Suffolk CC, Gloucester (NJ) CC, and Alfred State. Harper, Prince George's (MD) CC, Fashion Institute of Technology, Roxbury, and Herkimer round out the top ten.