Blaskowski Wins Fourth D3 100 Meters Title In 10.14, Adds 200 With 20.35, As Eagles Score 84 Points

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

Dominick Gramarosso photos

Sam Blaskowski once again proved he’s the most valuable runner in NCAA Division 3 track and field Saturday, dominating the sprint events and helping Wisconsin-La Crosse to its second straight men’s track and field national championship, and their 17th overall.

Blaskowski started off the day by taking the second leg of the 4x100 meter relay, handing off the baton in first and watching his teammates win and break the meet record with a 39.66 performance, lowering their own record from Thursdays prelims.

A few hours later, Blaskowski lined up for the 100-meter dash, and he eked out the win in 10.14, earning his fourth straight NCAA title in that event. Kevin Arthur from St. John’s (Minn.) finished just three hundredths of a second behind him in 10.17.

The two of them also went 1-2 in the 200 meter dash, but Blaskowski enjoyed a much wider margin this time; he won with a 20.35 performance, while Arthur finished nearly a second back in 21.18. By the time Blaskowski crossed the line in his last event, the Eagles had put it away. A second-place finish in the 4x400 relay was just a bonus, giving UW-La Crosse its final tally of 84 points.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire finished second with 56 points.

The star sprinter didn’t do it all on his own, though; UW-La Crosse also performed well in the distance events, highlighted by a 20-point showing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Friday. Joey Sullivan and Adam Loenser went 1-2 in that event, with Sullivan running 8:50.51 for the win.

Grant and Aidan Matthai added nine points in the 10,000 meters with fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively.

The latter of those events played host to some controversy. Nathan Tassey, a junior from Roger Williams, crossed the line first in 29:15.02, but he was disqualified for stepping inside the rail, which separates the first lane from the infield, on the last lap. Video footage appeared to indicate he tripped after turning his head to look at the field and stepped inside the rail to save himself from falling, but the officials handed him a DQ nonetheless. Central Illinois’ Braden Nicholson, who crossed the line second, was given the win.

UW-Eau Claire, meanwhile, earned the majority of its points from field events. Yakob Ekoue set the tone for the Blugolds with a 58.17m throw (190-10) and a win in the discus, the first event of the meet, and he followed that up with a third place finish in the shot put. Adam Strouf, his teammate, won that event with a throw of 18.50m (60-8.50), a personal best and the only throw beyond 60 feet.

Ekoue rounded out his performance with a third-place finish in the hammer throw on Saturday.

Rowan finished third in the team standings with 44.5 points, followed by St. John’s with 39.5 and Wisconsin-Oshkosh with 39.

Aside from Blaskowski’s and Ekoue’s triples, the individual performances were fairly quiet on the men’s side. Bethel (Minn.) ended the meet with a bang, though, breaking the Division 3 record in the 4x400 meter relay with a 3:06.52 performance.

MIT Wins First Women's Title

Heading into the women’s 4x400 relay, defending champion Washington University (Mo.) found itself seven points behind MIT. A second place finish earned the Bears eight points, which would have been enough for the win had MIT been absent.

MIT was far from absent. The Engineers won the 4x400, clinching their first title in program history with 56 points.

MIT was balanced across the board, picking up points in several disciplines but scoring no more than 10 in any event. Alexis Boykin was undeniably the team's best performer, earning podium finishes in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. She won the shot put with a Division 3 record 16.80m (55-1.5), and she took second in the discus and third in the hammer. 

Gillian Roeder and Christina Crow finished fifth and sixth in the 1,500 meters, and Kate Sanderson finished fourth in the 10,000 meters.

Washington was similarly balanced, also scoring no more than 10 in any event. Other than Yasmin Ruff in the pole vault, no Washington athlete won an event. Ebunoluwa Opata took second in the triple jump with a 12.87m jump (42-2.75) and tied for third in the high jump, clearing 1.68m (5-6). 

Wisconsin-La Crosse finished third with 38 points, using the same sprint-heavy attack that the men’s team did. The 4x100 meter relay team broke the Division 3 record with a 45.20 performance, while Lauren Jarrett echoed Blaskowski’s sprint triple, winning the 100 meters and 200 meters in addition to the 4x100.

Penelope Green, meanwhile, pulled off a distance double for SUNY Geneseo, winning the 10,000 meters on Thursday and the 5,000 meters on Saturday. Her time of 33:46.70 in the former broke the meet record, while her 16:01.55 performance in the latter was a personal best.

In the team standings, Wisconsin-Eau Claire finished fourth with 34 points, while Augustana (IL) rounded out the top five with 31.