Complete Results
GENEVA, Ohio—With All-American performances in 13 events, the Concordia men's track & field team finished in third place at the NAIA Indoor Championships on Saturday.
Indiana Tech won the team title with 82 points while Wayland Baptist (Texas), edged Concordia, 69 to 67, for runner-up honors. The result tied the all-time best team finish for the Concordia men's track team at nationals, matching the third-place result from the 2012 squad which scored 55.85 points.
"As a team there were some major ups and downs, but in the end, everyone competed hard," Frederick said. "We would have liked to have second and it was certainly there for us, but it's always great to be that high at a national meet."
The Concordia women tied for 30th place with five points.
Junior
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.) was named the Harry Gill Men's Outstanding Performer of the meet with a national title in the weight throw on Friday and adding a championship in the shot put on Saturday.
Moore, a transfer from Valley City State, uncorked a 59-7 1/2 (18.17m) throw on his third attempt of the day after Justin Roberts of Hasting's (Neb.) briefly took the lead with a 58-7 1/2 (17.87m) on his second attempt.
Moore's teammate,
Nate Moses (Fresno, Calif./Bullard H.S.) added a fourth-place finish with a 56-1 (17.09m) effort on his fifth attempt, giving the Cavaliers 15 points in the event.
"This was an amazing weekend and part of the reason I came to Concordia, to be able to compete as a team," Moore said. "Having those guys around helps you stay relaxed in the ring and pump you up when you need it. I've never been rated this high
in the shot before so that was a little different, but I started off really well in the weight throw and came close to the national record and that momentum carried through today."
Zach Lake (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Rainier Lutheran) gave the Cavaliers three athletes in the event, but the senior fouled on all three preliminary attempts.
"Those guys were really prepared out there," Frederick said. "Nate didn't start the way he wanted to but he had a great finish. Zach had three big throws and would have made it to finals too, but there was a late flag from a toe foul."
The shot point tally helped the Cavaliers into second place in the team standings with one event remaining, the 1,600-meter relay. The Cavaliers set a school record with a 3:15.12 in the prelims and were well on their way to eclipsing the record mark in the finals before a disaster struck in the last 20 meters.
Andre Washington (Vancouver, Wash./Hudson's Bay H.S.) led the foursome with a push down the final meters to hand the baton off in fourth place.
Jordan Reeher (Prineville, Ore./Crook County H.S.) and
Demetrius Rhodes (Portland, Ore./Benson Polytechnic) maintained the position through their segments as the team was on pace for a finish in the 3:14-range, but as anchor leg
Chris Zeller (Portland, Ore./Reynolds H.S.) was dueling with Concordia (Neb.) in the final meters, the baton was dislodged by the opposing runner as the arms of the two competitors made contact while scrapping for the final few paces. The bobble sent the Cavs back to eighth place but the team jumped to seventh with a disqualification from Indiana Tech.
"We were rolling with all four runners going in the 48-second range," Frederick said. "That would have easily been another school record."
Earlier in the day, Rhodes cut almost a full second off his indoor career best in the open 800 to place second overall with a time of 1:52.67. Rhodes used a perfectly timed kick on the final curve to nearly win the event as the sophomore left just one competitor, Oklahoma Baptist's Clay Shepperson (1:52.12), ahead of him at the finish.
In the 1,000,
Jasen Brown (Brewster, Wash./Brewster H.S.) placed himself in good position at the start and ran on the leader's shoulder through the first two laps. Heading into the straightaway with 400 meters to go, the close-knit pack overtook Brown on the outside, pushing the senior back into seventh place.
Making his counter move on the backstretch, Brown managed to slide into fourth place momentarily, but all the running on the outside lane around the curves caught up with him as the field powered forward down the final stretch, leaving Brown to settle for sixth place with a time of 2:30.51. With the entire field running much slower than it did during the prelims, Eastern Oregon's Hans Roelle took the championship with a 2:28.38. In comparison, 10 runners beat the winning time during Friday's trials.
Just before the 1,600 relay, Brown teamed up with
Brad Prettyman (Estacada, Ore./Estacada H.S.),
Edgar Vazquez (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Capistrano Valley H.S.) and
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College) in a third-place result in the distance medley. Prettyman once again provided a strong opening leg for the Cavs, turning over the stick to Vazquez in fifth place where another efficient exchange to Vazquez placed the Cavs in the contending pack. Brown covered the 800-meter leg before Clowes moved CU into second place with a lap to go before being overcome by Oklahoma City in the final strides.
"The teams ahead of us were much fresher than we were, but everyone ran a solid race, from Brad's great opener to Matt's 4:08 split on the mile," Frederick said.
The relay capped a busy day for Clowes, who placed fifth in the 3,000 and sixth in the mile. The national leader in both individual races, Clowes locked up in the last 10 meters of the mile after leading for much of the race.
Passed by Lewis-Clark State's Patrick McLaughlin in the final moments, Clowes stumbled to the track and failed to recover in time for silver, instead giving time for several members of chase group to clip the distance ace at the line.
Returning to the track less than two hours later, Clowes turned in a gutsy performance in the 3,000, putting himself in the second position through 2,000 meters before being surpassed by two runners over the final lap. Clowes finished with an 8:31.15 to add four more points, in addition to five in the mile, to CU's total.
"That was heartbreaking," Frederick said. "Matt gave it everything. He couldn't have run any harder for us. It just wasn't the right race for him. Coming off the tough mile, he did not a lot of recovery time, but he has a lot of guts and ended up getting us a few more points."
The CU women's team had just one competition on Saturday and made it count as the quartet of
Christa Collmer (Boring, Ore./Sam Barlow H.S.),
Molly Scoles (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Mt. Baker H.S.),
Brianna Keane (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome H.S.) and
Sarah Whybark (Snohomish, Wash./Glacier Peak H.S.) placed fourth overall with a time of 12:03.38. Collmer and Scoles put the Cavs into the top four while Keane moved up a spot with a quick 800-meter leg.
Sarah Whybark (Snohomish, Wash./Glacier Peak H.S.) closed out the relay with the mile, losing one position to a late-charging team from Carroll College (Mont).
"All four of the women ran tough. Christa kept us in the mix and Molly had another season-best split," Frederick said. "Briand went even faster in her 800 today and Sarah was extremely focused while facing two of the best middle distance runners in the entire country."
Closing out his collegiate career, senior
Ethan Moore (Moro, Ore./Sherman H.S.) placed 10th in the triple jump with a 46-1 1/4 after capturing a pair of All-American results in the high jump and long jump on Friday. Moore was the lone entrant that participated in all three events this weekend and missed out on advancing to finals in his third event by less than five inches.
"Ethan gave it everything he had," Frederick said. "He was, of course, a little fatigued and had a tough time getting on the board, but he is a team guy and was willing to be in all three. He put together a great weekend and a great way to go out in a Concordia uniform."
NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships
SPIRE Institute
Geneva, Ohio
March 6-8
Men's Team Scores: 1. Indiana Tech, 82; 3. Wayland Baptist (Texas), 69; 3. Concordia (Ore.), 67; 4. Oklahoma Baptist, 57; 5. Siena Heights (Mich.), 47; 6. Eastern Oregon, 36; T21. College of Idaho, 21; T24. Southern Oregon, 10; T34. Evergreen State, 4.
Women's Team Scores: 1. Oklahoma Baptist, 133; 2. Indiana Tech, 123; 3. College of Idaho, 55; 4. Cornerstone (Mich.), 49.5; 5. Embry-Riddle (Fla.), 32; T15. Eastern Oregon, 18; T30. Concordia (Ore.), 5.
National Champion: 2
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.), Shot, 1st
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.), Weight Throw, 1st
All-Americans: 13
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.), Shot, 1st
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.), Weight Throw, 1st
Ethan Moore (Moro, Ore./Sherman H.S.), High Jump, 2nd
Demetrius Rhodes (Portland, Ore./Benson Polytechnic), 800, 2nd
Men's Distance Medley, 3rd (
Brad Prettyman (Estacada, Ore./Estacada H.S.),
Edgar Vazquez (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Capistrano Valley H.S.),
Jasen Brown (Brewster, Wash./Brewster H.S.),
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College))
Women's Distance Medley, 4th (
Christa Collmer (Boring, Ore./Sam Barlow H.S.),
Molly Scoles (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Mt. Baker H.S.),
Brianna Keane (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome H.S.),
Sarah Whybark (Snohomish, Wash./Glacier Peak H.S.))
Nate Moses (Fresno, Calif./Bullard H.S.), Shot, 4th
Adam Riddle (Fox Island, Wash./Gig Harbor H.S.), Weight Throw, 4th
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College), 3,000, 5th
Jasen Brown (Brewster, Wash./Brewster H.S.), 1,000, 6th
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College), Mile, 6th
Ethan Moore (Moro, Ore./Sherman H.S.), Long Jump, 6th
1,600 Relay, 7th (
Andre Washington (Vancouver, Wash./Hudson's Bay H.S.),
Jordan Reeher (Prineville, Ore./Crook County H.S.),
Demetrius Rhodes (Portland, Ore./Benson Polytechnic),
Chris Zeller (Portland, Ore./Reynolds H.S.)).
Concordia Men's Results
600 (prelims): 10.
Andre Washington (Vancouver, Wash./Hudson's Bay H.S.), 1:20.76. 800 (finals): 2.
Demetrius Rhodes (Portland, Ore./Benson Polytechnic), 1:52.67. 800 (prelims): 7.
Demetrius Rhodes (Portland, Ore./Benson Polytechnic), 1:54.27. 1,000 (finals): 6.
Jasen Brown (Brewster, Wash./Brewster H.S.), 2:30.51. 1,000 (prelims): 5.
Jasen Brown (Brewster, Wash./Brewster H.S.), 2:26.48. Mile (finals): 6.
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College), 4:11.14. Mile (prelims): 8.
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College), 4:20.99. 3,000 (finals): 5.
Matthew Clowes (Stoke-on-Trent, England/Westwood College), 8:31.15. 5,000 (prelims): 22.
Eric Alldritt (Bend, Ore./Summit H.S.), 15:29.69. Long Jump: 6.
Ethan Moore (Moro, Ore./Sherman H.S.), 23-4 1/2 (7.12m). High Jump: 2.
Ethan Moore (Moro, Ore./Sherman H.S.), 6-10 1/4 (2.09m). Triple Jump: 11.
Ethan Moore (Moro, Ore./Sherman H.S.), 46-1 1/4 (14.05m). Shot: 1.
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.), 59-7 1/2 (18.17m); 4.
Nate Moses (Fresno, Calif./Bullard H.S.), 56-1 (17.09m); Foul:
Zach Lake (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Rainier Lutheran). Weight Throw: 1.
Darien Moore (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield H.S.), 67-0 (20.42m); 4.
Adam Riddle (Fox Island, Wash./Gig Harbor H.S.), 62-8 (19.10m). 1,600 Relay (finals): 7. Concordia, 3:25.76 (A. Washington, J. Reeher, D. Rhodes, C. Zeller). 1,600 Relay (prelims): 6. Concordia, 3:15.12 (A. Washington, J. Reeher, C. Zeller, D. Rhodes). Distance Medley (finals): 3. Concordia, 9:57.90 (B. Prettyman, E. Vazquez, J. Brown, M. Clowes). Distance Medley (prelims): 3. Concordia, 9:59.53 (B. Prettyman, E. Vazquez, J. Brown, M. Clowes).
Concordia Women's Results
800 (prelims): 12.
Brianna Keane (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome H.S.), 2:17.13. Distance Medley (finals): 4. Concordia, 12:03.38 (
Christa Collmer (Boring, Ore./Sam Barlow H.S.),
Molly Scoles (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Mt. Baker H.S.),
Brianna Keane (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome H.S.),
Sarah Whybark (Snohomish, Wash./Glacier Peak H.S.)). Distance Medley (prelims): 3. Concordia, 12:02.73 (
Christa Collmer (Boring, Ore./Sam Barlow H.S.),
Molly Scoles (Sedro-Woolley, Wash./Mt. Baker H.S.),
Brianna Keane (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome H.S.),
Sarah Whybark (Snohomish, Wash./Glacier Peak H.S.)).