March 12, 2005

Track Has Six All-Americans

Birchard National Runner Up

            Kearney, Neb. –  After a tough first day at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Nebraska-Kearney track team had a banner effort in day two. 

            Six different Lopers -- four women and two men -- placed in the top eight to earn All-American honors. The effort ties last year's indoor team for most All-Americans in one meet at the NCAA level.

            The women did set a new standard at the NCAA level by having four different All-Americans. The previous high was three, set at the 2000 indoor meet and last year at the outdoor championships.

            In the elite group are seniors Lesley Crutcher (Elkhorn), Mike Ford (Bertrand) and Derek Frese (Walthill), juniors Shauna Birchard (Central City) and Amber Tiedeman (Red Cloud), and sophomore Sara Wagner (Culbertson).

            Kearney redshirt freshman Ross Fellows almost made it seven All-Americans but he placed ninth in the triple jump (47-0.75), one spot shy of top honors.

            Birchard led the Lopers' haul as she finished as national runner up in the shot put (season-best 48-9.50). April Burton of Cal State Bakersfield won the national title with a toss of 48-11.

            This is the second runner up finish for Birchard. She was also runner up in the shot at the 2004 outdoor championships.

            She is just one of four Lopers, along with Ivan Ivanov, Janet Boettcher and Dave Smith, to place first or second at an NCAA track meet.

            Also in the shot, Tiedeman finished fifth (season-best 46-2.75).

            Staying on the women's side, Wagner earned her first All-American honor by placing fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 38-9. Anastasia Kyvelidou of UNO won the event with a jump of 40-2.75.

            In a very tight high jump race, Crutcher was one of seven different individuals to clear 5-7. Based on judge's decision, she finished eighth to earn her first indoor All-American honor. She earned All-American honors in the high jump at the 2004 outdoor championships.

            The national champ was Danielle Ayers-Stamper of Seattle Pacific (5-8).

            On the men's side, Ford placed third in the pole vault as he cleared 16-9.50, once again breaking his own school record (16-8.75).

            He is the first Loper to earn All-American honors in this event, indoor or outdoors, since 1989 (Allen Perry).

            Mark Zilch of Lewis (Illinois) was the vault national champ as he went 17-5.50.

            Finally, Frese earned his third career All-American honor by placing fifth in the 35 lbs. weight throw (61-3). Bakersfield went 1-3 in this event with Chris Figures placing first (67-5.25).

            In the team race, UNK tied South Dakota for 11^th place on the women's side (17 points) while the Loper men scored 10 points to tie for 19^th place.