Ripon Final Qualifier |
Wartburg Last Chance |
All-Time Division III Indoor Times and Distances [PDF]
RIPON, Wis. / WAVERLY, Iowa (March 5, 2022) - With his fourth throw of the day, UW-Stout's
Kevin Ruechel threw his way onto the all-time NCAA Division III indoor shot put list at the Ripon College Final Qualifier and Multi Saturday.
With a toss of 61-feet, 9.50-inches (18.83m), Ruechel shattered the school record of 60-1 that he set last year.
Ruechel has been the top seed in Division III shot put throughout the season, but his mark today extended his lead to more than five feet. Before today, Ruechel's best distance was 59-9.50 at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Challenge, Feb. 15. Ruechel won the WIAC shot put title Feb. 25 by five feet with a throw of 59-0.75.
The Blue Devils had competitors at both the Ripon meet and at the Wartburg College Last Chance meet in Waverly, Iowa, Saturday, in an effort to better performances before the NCAA announces the qualifiers Sunday, March 6, for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship next weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Jacob Bugella competed at Ripon in the weight throw, finishing first with a mark of 58-feet, 4.75-inches. Bugella is currently seeded fifth nationally from a previous distance.
Connor Walechka finished sixth with a mark of 54-2.
At Wartburg,
Jacob Backes improved on his pole vault height, clearing 15-11.25, a personal-best by more than an inch from his previous height. Backes was 19th nationally coming into the day.
Kaden Martin improved his time in the 60-hurdles with a finish of 8.23 seconds in the finals after a time of 8.47 in the preliminaries. Martin took almost two-tenths of a second off his previous best time.
Noah Beck finished in a time of 8.58 seconds and
Carter Wente in a time of 9.39.
Daniel Nesja finished third in the triple jump with a distance of 45-1.75.
Freshman
Grant Magnuson improved his time in the 800-meter clocking in at 1-minute, 54.43-seconds, finishing seventh in the field of 30.
Spencer Schultz was seventh in the 3000-meter (8:30.50) and
Matthew Ryan was eighth (8:34.10).
The NCAA is expected to announce national qualifiers Sunday.
