NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship |
Women's Shot Put |
Men's Hammer Throw |
Men's Shot Put |
100-Hurdles Finals |
GREENSBORO, NC (May 29, 2021) - Four members of the UW-Stout track and field teams brought home All-America awards Saturday - including a national shot put championship by
Kevin Ruechel - at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at North Carolina A&T State University. The top eight are awarded All-America honors.
Kevin Ruechel (Sr, Pulaski) placed first in the shot put to win the Blue Devils second national championship of the 2021 meet. Ruechel, who came into the meet as the top seed, lived up to the seed with a school record toss of 59-feet, 9-inches (18.21m) on his final toss of the day. Ruechel's win is the third time a Stout individual has won the shot put title. Jason Lehman won the outdoor shot put in 1998 and Sam Elsner won the shot put crown in 2018. The win gave Ruechel is third All-America award and his first outdoor All-America award.
Jacob Bugella (Jr, Rice Lake) was second in the hammer throw with toss of 196-10 (60.01m). Bugella earned his first All-America title and became the fourth Blue Devil to qualify in the event. Bugella is Stout's highest-ever placement in the hammer.
Mackenzie Huber (So, Colby) was seventh in the shot put with a mark of 45-3 (13.79m). Huber earned her second All-America award and her first outdoor All-America award.
Alec Benzinger (Sr, Waukesha) placed 11th in the men's shot put with a mark of 51-1.75 (15.59m).
Hannah Zastrow (Fr, Spencer) placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles in a time 14.28 seconds, moving up from her seventh place preliminary finish.
As a team, the Stout men scored 28 points and tied for eighth. The women scored six points and tied for 37 points.
Combined with
Noah Zastrow's national title in the pole vault on Thursday, Stout brought home five All-America medals. When Zastrow and Ruechel earned national titles, it was the first time Stout brought home two national titles in the same meet since Tim Nelson won the 5K and 10K at the 2012 championship. It is the first time that two separate Stout individuals have ever captured titles at the same meet. Terry Anders won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter titles at both the 1996 and 1997 meets.
