NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship |
Men's Discus |
Men's Pole Vault |
200 Meter |
4x400-relay
GREENSBORO, NC (May 27, 2021) -
Noah Zastrow had to wait nearly two years, but the UW-Stout senior claimed the NCAA Division III pole vault title Thursday at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship at North Carolina A & T State University.
Zastrow has been the top-ranked pole vaulter since the 2020 indoor season, but that season, along with the 2020 outdoor season, was canceled due to the pandemic. Stout did compete during the 2021 indoor season, but the NCAA canceled the indoor championship.
Zastrow cleared 16-feet, 8.75-inches to claim the prize, and won the title on fewer misses, matching the same height as Ithaca's Dominic Mikula. Passes among the three top finishers, including freshman Ben Drummey who finished third, played into the final standing.
Zastrow passed until 16-4.75 (5.00m), while Mikula and Drummey worked their way up the ladder. Mikula's first miss came at 16-2.75 (4.95m), which he made on his second attempt, and Zastrow and Drummey missed on their first two attempts at 16-4.75, but made the height on their third jumps. Mikula missed on his first attempt at 16-4.75, but cleared the bar on his second attempt.
Drummey made the next height, 16-6.75 (5.05m) on his first jump, but Zastrow and Mikula passed to 16-8.75 (5.10m), while Drummey passed to 17-0.75 (5.20m). Zastrow made 16-8.75 on his first attempt, while Mikula missed on the first attempt, but came back to clear on his second. Zastrow passed at 16-10.75 (5.15m), but Mikula went out, setting up a showdown at 17-0.75, which both vaulters missed on three consecutive jumps. Because Drummey's last made height was 16-6.75, that became his final mark. Zastrow and Mikula tied at 16-8.75, with Zastrow having one less miss at 16-8.75 to claim the national title.
Zastrow became the first pole vault champion for the Blue Devils, becoming Stout's 12th national champion and earned the 22nd track individual national trophy for the Blue Devil program.
Kevin Ruechel (Sr, Pulaski) opened the day for the Blue Devils, placing 11th in the discus with a mark of 149-feet, 10-inches (45.67m). Steven Hermsen of Carroll College won the national title with a toss of 177-11. Ruechel will compete in the shot put Saturday where he is the top seed.
Brett Heilman (Jr, West Salem) narrowly missed qualifying to the finals in the 200-meter dash, finishing 10th with a time of 21.66 seconds in the preliminary round. JP Vaught of Centre College took the top time in 21.11 seconds. Eight runners advance to the finals Saturday.
Heilman ran with the Blue Devils' 4x400-meter relay team of
Cody Lohrenz (Sr, Hortonville),
Keegan Pulchinski (So, Junction City) and
Caleb Green (Fr, Chicago, Ill) that finished 14th (3-minutes, 18.86-seconds).
Hannah Zastrow (Fr, Spencer) will compete Friday, May 28, in the 100-hurdles and high jump. Ruechel will compete Saturday in the shot put and will be joined by
Jacob Bugella (Jr, Rice Lake) in the hammer throw and Mackenzie Huber (So, Colby) in the shot put.
