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Division III Championships
bb-m They say that nothing is certain but death and taxes, but Kenyon Division III swimming and diving championships come close. The Lords and Ladies swamped their fields again in 2008. SEMIFINALS
Washington-St. Louis 89, Hope 74
Amherst 84, Ursinus 58
THIRD-PLACE GAME
Hope 100, Ursinus 86
CHAMPIONSHIP
Washington-St. Louis 90, Amherst 68
Troy Ruths, the tournament’s most outstanding player, poured in 33 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 15-of-17 from the foul line to help Washington-St. Louis end Amherst’s bid for a second consecutive national title. The Bears won the Division III Men’s Basketball Championship game, 90-68. It was the first men’s NCAA title in any sport for Washington-St. Louis. Ruths was 20-for-28 from the floor and 23-of-26 from the free-throw line in the semifinals and finals combined. Washington-St. Louis coach Mark Edwards improved to 477-233 in his 27 years at the institution.
DIII Women’s Basketball SEMIFINALS
Howard Payne 69, Wis.-Whitewater 59
Messiah 80, Oglethorpe 60
THIRD-PLACE GAME
Wis.-Whitewater 80, Oglethorpe 67
CHAMPIONSHIP
Howard Payne 68, Messiah 54
Howard Payne completed an undefeated season with a 68-54 victory over Messiah in the Division III Women’s Basketball Championship game. The Lady Yellow Jackets, 33-0, are only the fifth unbeaten Division III women’s national championship team and the first since Washington-St. Louis in 2000. Senior guard Meia Daniels scored 15 points and dished out five assists en route to being named the tournament’s most outstanding player. Howard Payne, which led 35-25 at the intermission, didn’t give Messiah much hope at mounting a comeback by outscoring the Falcons 33-29 during the final 20 minutes. Messiah, 30-3, concluded its season with a school record for wins and appeared in the national championship game for only the second time in program history.
DIII men’s ICE Hockey SEMIFINALS
Plattsburgh St. 6, Elmira 3
St. Norbert 3, Norwich 0
CHAMPIONSHIP
St. Norbert 2, Plattsburgh St. 0
In a battle between the top-two ranked teams, No. 1 St. Norbert defeated Plattsburgh State, 2-0, for the Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship at Lake Placid, New York. St. Norbert came into the game on a 28-game winning streak, and Plattsburgh State had recorded only three losses since December entering its record 16th Division III tournament and 10th among the final four. St. Norbert’s Scott Pulak gave the Green Knights the lead 26 minutes into the game, followed by Marc Belanger’s goal five minutes later. St. Norbert was the first team in Division III men’s ice hockey history to post shutouts in both the semifinal and championship games.
DIII Women’s ICE Hockey SEMIFINALS
Manhattanville 4, Wis.-Superior 3 (overtime)
Plattsburgh St. 2, Elmira 0
THIRD-PLACE GAME
Elmira 3, Wis.-Superior 0
CHAMPIONSHIP
Plattsburgh St. 3, Manhattanville 2
Plattsburgh State successfully defended its Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Championship title, edging Manhattanville, 3-2, on the Cardinals’ home ice. The game was a test for both teams, with Plattsburgh State scoring first in the opening period on a power play and Manhattanville answering 61 seconds later with a man-advantage goal of its own. After Plattsburgh State goals from Danielle Blanchard and Amber Ellis later in the first period, the Cardinals were up, 3-1. Manhattanville goaltender Karine Turmel set a Division III championship-game record for saves with 33 – 17 in the first period. The Valiants’ Natalie Zitek pulled her team within one with a second-period goal, and it nearly tied the score late in the game. The apparent Manhattanville goal was wiped out, however, as play had already stopped for a Plattsburgh State penalty.
DIII men’s Indoor Track and Field TEAM RESULTS
1st: Wis.-La Crosse, 43
2nd: Monmouth (Ill.), 33
3rd: Wis.-Oshkosh and Wis.-Platteville, 21
Wisconsin-La Crosse extended its record streak of wins in the 1,600-meter relay and also claimed a second straight title in the shot put in winning the Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships at Ohio Northern. The Eagles won the relay for the sixth straight year and Bobby Riley repeated as shot put titlist as Wisconsin-La Crosse reclaimed the team crown it temporarily surrendered last year to Lincoln (Pennsylvania). The Eagles have won seven of the last eight team championships and a record 14 overall. Riley’s win early in the second day of competition put the Eagles ahead to stay. Wisconsin-La Crosse then widened its lead over runner-up Monmouth (Illinois) with Paul Zdroik’s runner-up finish in the mile run and clinched the title by finishing four spots and nearly two seconds ahead of Monmouth in the last of two 1,600-meter relay heats. Riley became the first shot putter to win the event in two consecutive years since 1996 when Aaron Banks of Concordia-Moorhead repeated with a record toss of 59 feet, 9 inches – a mark that still stands today. Riley’s winning throw of 55-7 was the best of the season in Division III.
DIII Women’s Indoor Track and Field TEAM RESULTS
1st: Ill. Wesleyan, 30
2nd: Wartburg, 27
3rd: Washington-St. Louis, 23
Illinois Wesleyan sprinter Rachel Anderson, not long after claiming a third straight indoor 400-meter dash title, anchored her 1,600-meter relay team to a come-from-behind victory and led the Titans to their first team title at the Division III Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships. The senior’s relay team was 10 meters behind in fifth place when she took the baton for the last 400 meters in the second of two relay heats, but Anderson passed Wartburg’s Hannah Baker rounding the last turn to win by four-tenths of a second – and also ended Wartburg’s bid for the team crown. Anderson, who shares the championships record of 55.46 seconds in the 400-meter run with former Wheaton (Massachusetts) sprinter Amber James, made a bid earlier in the day to improve that mark but fell just short in capturing the event for the third straight year. She won with a time of 55.66. The team victory is Illinois Wesleyan’s first in a women’s championship. The school also claimed a Division III men’s basketball title in 1997.
DIII Men’s Swimming and Diving TEAM RESULTS
1st: Kenyon, 635
2nd: Johns Hopkins, 330
3rd: Denison, 314.5
Kenyon cruised to its 29th straight Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships team crown, winning nine of 20 events. Kenyon finished with 635 points, nearly twice the total of second-place Johns Hopkins, which finished with 330. Denison, Emory and Williams rounded out the top five. Senior Josh Mitchell put on a show, collecting six individual titles and a second-place finish while being named Division III swimmer of the year. Mitchell won the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke events. He also was a part of Kenyon’s championship 200- and 400-yard freestyle, and 200- and 400-yard medley relays. Classmate Matthew Harris also won six titles, joining Mitchell on the four relays while also winning the 100-yard butterfly (47.94) and the 200-yard butterfly (1:48.44). Kegan Borlund won the 1,650-yard freestyle for the Lords, finishing in 15:31.96. Blair Withington, Marc Christian and Tom Irgens all were part of two championship relays for the Lords.
DIII Women’s swimming and diving TEAM RESULTS
1st: Kenyon, 566.5
2nd: Amherst, 341
3rd: Denison, 328
Kenyon captured the Division III Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships team title for the 22nd time in 25 years and earned the college’s 50th national title in the sport. Kaitlyn Meirs was Kenyon’s lone individual champion, winning the 1,650-yard freestyle in 16 minutes, 52.90 seconds. Brittany Hurd, Elizabeth Carlton, Alyssa Toran and Jessica Wise teamed to win the 200-yard freestyle relay for the Ladies. While Meirs won the team’s only individual title, there weren’t many events in which Kenyon swimmers didn’t claim All-American honors. Senior Kate Coker came in third in the 200-yard backstroke to garner the 13th All-American award of her career. Sophomore Tina Ertel was second in the 100-yard freestyle, while Tracy Menzel, Lauren Brady and Danielle Arad also turned in top-five finishes in their respective events. Amherst’s Kendra Stern and Brittany Sasser each set two meet records to help the Lady Jeffs finish second overall.
DIII Wrestling TEAM RESULTS
1st: Wartburg, 147
2nd: Wis.-La Crosse, 100
3rd: Augsburg, 87
Top-ranked Wartburg won the Division III Wrestling Championships team title in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, clinching the crown early when six competitors won semifinal matches. Aaron Wernimont (157), Romeo Djoumessi (184) and Jacob Naig (149) went on to win individual national titles and helped Wartburg outdistance the nearest competition, Wisconsin-La Crosse, by 47 points. Djoumessi ended the 2007-08 season with a perfect 29-0 mark. Naig overcame two complete anterior cruciate ligament tears, including one that cost him the entire 2006-07 season, in his career to reach the top in his weight class. Jake Helvey (133), defending 197-pound national champion T.J. Miller and heavyweight Brian Borchers all had second-place finishes for Wartburg. The three individual national champions ran Wartburg’s streak of having at least two or more to six years. This year’s total equaled its three champions in 2003 and pushed the program’s total to 27. The 147-point total marked the fourth time since 2003 the Knights have been above the 145-point mark in a national meet.
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