GREENSBORO, N.C. - Wartburg men's and women's track and field competed in the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday, May 29 at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T State University, with the men earning their first NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship with a school record 54 points.
The Knights came into the final race of the day tied for first place and needed to beat the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the 4x400-meter relay race to claim the title.
Dallas Wright,
Dalton Martin,
Wyatt Schmidt and
Derrick Smith did just that and Wartburg earned its first national championship.
The women finished in 16th place with 18 points and sophomore
Aubrie Fisher captured the only individual national title of the weekend for Wartburg during the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The Orange & Black tallied a total of 15 All-Americans during the three-day event. The men earned 11 All-American spots while four women received All-American honors.
Men
The 4x100-meter relay team of Wright,
Riley Nolan,
Randy Williams and Smith kicked off the day for Wartburg. The team finished in third place and earned All-American honors when they clocked in with a time of 40.82, which is the third fastest time in program history.
Senior
Matt Heinzman followed that performance with an All-American spot on the podium during the 1,500-meter run. The Royal Oak, Mich. native finished in seventh place and ran a personal best 3:49.07, which is the third best time in school history. This marked the first All-American nod for Heinzman in outdoor track and field.
Freshman
Deyton Love competed in the 110-meter hurdle finals on Saturday and took sixth, which earned him an All-American honor. The Waterloo, Iowa native tied the fifth fastest time in Wartburg history with a 14.51.
Senior Wright continued his busy day when he competed in the 400-meter dash and took second place. The All-American recorded a personal-best time of 46.83, which set a new Wartburg record in the event.
Wright then switched his focus to the 400-meter hurdles where he was the reigning champion and the top-seeded runner in the event. The Carlisle, Iowa native looked as though he would repeat as champion but tripped over the final hurdle and placed fourth. The senior finished with a time of 54.14 and was named an All-American in the event for the second straight season.
Smith returned to the track after a rain delay and competed in the 200-meter dash finals. The sophomore earned an All-American spot on the podium when he placed fifth with a time of 21.46, which is the third fastest time in program history.
Heinzman,
Christopher Collet and
Joe Freiburger all participated in the 5,000-meter run. Freiburger paced the Knights with a fifth-place finish and clocked in with the third best time in school history, 14:21.26. Collet joined Freiburger on the All-American podium when he placed sixth with a personal-best time of 14:22.17, which is the fourth fastest mark in Wartburg history. Heinzman finished with a time of 15:00.97 and took 15th.
The final race of the day was the 4x400-meter relay with a national title on the line. Wright, Schmidt, Smith and Martin clinched the national championship for Wartburg with a third-place finish in the race. The All-Americans clocked in with a time of 3:12.47, which is the third fastest time in school history.
Women
Senior
Jackie Ganshirt began things for Wartburg on the women's side when she competed in the 400-meter dash finals. The Dubuque, Iowa native ran a personal-best time of 56.21, which was the 10th fastest mark in program history. Ganshirt concluded the race in sixth place and earned an All-American spot on the podium.
Carina Collet and Fisher both competed in the 5,000-meter race finals. Fisher placed 10th with a time of 17:06.39, which is the eighth best time in program history. Collet clocked in with a time of 17:22.95 and took 15th.
Carson McSorley,
Brenna Jacobs,
Taylan Olson and Ganshirt wrapped up competition for the women in the 4x400-meter relay. The team took seventh place with a time of 3:50.14 and earned an All-American spot on the podium.
Wartburg All-Americans
- Aubrie Fisher (3,000m Steeplechase) (NATIONAL CHAMPION)
- Breya Christopher (High Jump)
- Jackie Ganshirt (400m Dash)
- Carson McSorley, Brenna Jacobs, Taylan Olson, Jackie Ganshirt (4x400m Relay)
- Joe Freiburger (10,000m Run)
- Christopher Collet (3,000m Steeplechase)
- Dallas Wright, Riley Nolan, Randy Williams, Derrick Smith (4x100m Relay)
- Matt Heinzman (1,500m Run)
- Deyton Love (110m Hurdles)
- Dallas Wright (400m Dash)
- Dallas Wright (400m Hurdles)
- Derrick Smith (200m Dash)
- Joe Freiburger (5,000m Run)
- Christopher Collet (5,000m Run)
- Dallas Wright, Wyatt Schmidt, Derrick Smith, Dalton Martin (4x400m Relay)
For more information on Wartburg Athletics, follow the Knights on Twitter, Instagram, like us on Facebook, or sign up for text updates/score alerts from the rainedout.net text-messaging system.
