LaMere Doubles as National Champ, Men finish 4th

WAVERLY, Iowa - The men's track and field team earned a trophy with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Championships. Saturday, the third and final day of the championships, brought the most points for the Pioneers.

Ian LaMere won the 5,000m race after having claimed the 10,000m title on Thursday. LaMere ran with the pack for most of the race before taking the lead with five laps to go. Defending national champion Josh Thorson from UW-Eau Claire remained in LaMere's heels until the final lap. Entering the final lap, Thorson took the lead from LaMere. LaMere tried to respond on the back stretch but Thorson held him off. LaMere hung on to Thorson until the final turn when LaMere dug deep for a final sprint and went by Thorson. LaMere held on to the lead as he crossed the finish in 14:24.02

Dan Arnold began the day for the Pioneers with a second place finish in the 110m Hurdles. Arnold crossed the finish in 13.99 while three-time defending national champ Luke Campbell from Salisbury concluded his unbeaten nationals streak in the event with a 13.93.

Wyatt Thompson had qualified to finals as the eighth and final qualifier in the 400m but was able to surpass two competitors for a sixth place finish. Thompson, the only freshman to qualify to finals, ran a personal best 47.74 in preliminaries and finished off with a 47.82 to earn three points for the Pioneers.

The men finished the championships with 31 points. Finishing third was Monmouth with 32 points and second was UW-Eau Claire with 33 points. Defending national champions UW-La Crosse took the title with 41 points.

This is the Pioneer's fourth trophy in program history. Previously the Pioneers had finished third indoors in 2005 and 2008 along with a fourth place finish outdoor in 2007.

On the women's side Amber Williams competed in the triple jump. Williams finished in fourth place after a final round jump of 40-3.25 (12.27m), her third best jump of the season.