3/14/2009 3:29:51 PM
Terre Haute, IN — Junior Kristen Bates complemented Friday’s third-place finish in the pentathlon with a second-place result in the women’s 55-meter hurdles at this weekend’s NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships, earning her second double All-American honor on the indoor circuit.
Senior Patrick Roach finished third in the men’s 800-meter run on Saturday, making the most of his indoor national championship debut with an All-American finish as well.
“It was another very good day for Kristen and Pat,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “They both can feel very good about the performances they turned in over the weekend.”
Competing at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Sports and Recreation Center in Terre Haute, Indiana, Bates ran an :08.11 in Saturday’s 55-meter hurdles final — the exact same clip she posted in Friday’s prelims.
Frostburg State University’s Summer Rohrs captured her fourth indoor national championship in the event with a :07.84 time Saturday, setting a new NCAA Division III National Championships record in the process.
Bates entered the 55-meter hurdles as the second seed behind Rohrs, while the :08.11 clip was her second-fastest time ever behind her school-record :08.06 set at this year’s Dickinson College Valentine’s Invitational.
Bates’ dual All-American honors helped Messiah to a 10th-place finish in the women’s team standings — a new program record — while she earned her third and fourth indoor All-American awards and fifth overall. Bates finished third in the triple jump and fourth in the 55-meter hurdles in last year’s indoor national championships, and claimed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles at last year’s outdoor national championships.
Roach, meanwhile, scooted to a third-place finish in Saturday’s 800-meter men’s finals, clocking a 1:54.17 to edge the fourth-place runner by two tenths of a second. Roach qualified for Saturday’s finals by virtue of a 1:53.99 clip in a very physical Friday prelim heat, participating in a much cleaner race Saturday afternoon.
The Boiling Springs, Pa. native utilized a very smart race in the finals, making his move around the 600-meter mark to move from seventh into third over the final lap. Roach was edged by Ohio Northern University’s Jimmy O’Brien (1:53.34) and Whitworth University’s Emmanual Bofa (1:53.80). O’Brien won his second indoor national championship in the event, while Bofa was last year’s 800-meter champion in the outdoor national championships.
Roach’s first indoor All-American honor helped Messiah tie for 32nd place among all men’s teams. It was his second All-American honor overall, as he finished fourth in the 400-meter run in last year’s outdoor national championships.
Bates and Roach advanced to Saturday's finals behind a highly-productive Friday, as Bates finished third in the pentathlon earning her third indoor All-American honor.
Bates also ran an :08.11 in the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles Friday afternoon, qualifying for Saturday’s finals. Senior Patrick Roach found similar success in the open 800, finishing in a 1:53.99 clip — a time good enough to place him in Saturday’s final race as well.
“It was a good day,” said Dale Fogelsanger, Messiah head coach. “It was a solid day for Kristen in the pent, and we’ve got two finalists coming back for tomorrow. You couldn’t ask for much more than that.”
Bates scored a school-record and personal-best 3,394 points in the championships-opening pentathlon event, finishing the 55-meter hurdles in :08.21, clearing a height of 4 feet, 11 and ½ inches in the high jump, slinging the shot put 27 feet, 10 inches, leaping 17 feet, 4 and 1/4 inches in the long jump and running the 800-meters in 2:25.86. Her 800 time was a huge personal best, helping to move her from fifth to third in the overall standings.
The first time the pentathlon has been competed at the national championships, Bates finished behind only Ashley Huston (3,725 points) of Hardin-Simmons University and Jessica Belden (3,497 points) of Haverford College. She topped Stacy Doornbos of Washington & Lee College by four points, adding another All-American honor to complement her third-place finish in the triple jump and fourth-place result in the 55-meter hurdles last year. She entered Friday’s pentathlon as the seven seed.
Bates had a little over two hours to cool down and prep for the 55-meter hurdles prelims following her pentathlon finish, and the Landisburg, Pa. native was again brilliant: Bates’ :08.11 clip won the first heat, serving as her second-best time behind her school-record :08.06 ran at this year’s Dickinson College Valentine’s Invitational.
Roach finished Messiah’s day with a strong run in the men’s 800-meter event, finishing third in the second heat — and fourth overall — to easily move on to Saturday’s eight-man finals. Roach used a patient pace to settle into second place in his heat until the last 200 meters, where Whitworth University’s Emmanuel Bofa utilized a strong kick to finish just ahead in a time of 1:53.83.
Wartburg College won the women’s team title while the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse shared the men’s team championship. Sixty-eight schools were represented on the women’s side and 74 on the men’s.
Complete results from the two-day meet are available at both the Rose-Hulman national championship site and the USTFCCCA national championships site.