The sky was the limit for Wartburg’s Skye Morrison on the opening day of the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday at Grinnell College.
Morrison soared 6.17 meters (20 feet, 3 inches) in the women’s long jump to break the NCAA Championships record of 5.96 meters set by Wheaton’s Shimera Daniels in 2002.
Other individual champs on the opening day were Elizabeth Evans of Rose-Hulman in the high jump (1.79 meters/5-10 ½), Linfield’s Catherine Street in the pole vault (4.10 meters/13-5 ¼), Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Alexia Child in the weight throw (19.55 meters/64-1 ¾) and Ithaca’s Emma Dewart in the pentathlon (3,674 points). Evans and Dewart won those titles at last year’s meet, as well.
Middlebury’s tandem of Addie Tousley, Rebecca Fanning, Juliet Ryan-Davis and Margo Cramer won the distance medley relay in 11:37.35. Ryan-Davis and Cramer were on last year’s championship squad, as well.
Defending team champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh leads after the first day with 20 points, four in front of Wartburg.
On the men’s side, how good was the men’s distance medley relay field?
Not only did event champion Bowdoin break the NCAA meet record in the event, but so did the top seven finishers. Bowdoin’s quartet of Coby Horowitz, Matthew Gamache, Colin Fong and Matthew Hilliard ran the race in 9:59.67 to break the meet mark of 10:05.72 set by Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2009. Bowdoin won the race in nail-biting fashion, edging Wisconsin-Stevens Point by .03.
Other schools breaking the record were Bates, Middlebury, MIT, Wisconsin-La Crosse and North Central.
Individual champs Friday were North Central’s Josh Winder in the pole vault (5.16 meters/16-11), Wartburg’s Jonas Elusme in the long jump (7.28 meters/23-10 ¾) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Tyler Genovese in the weight throw (20.01 meters/65-7 ¾).
Two-time defending champion North Central leads the team standings with 24 points, nine ahead of runner-up Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
