ALLENDALE, Mich. – On a cold and blustery day to begin the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday (May 27) at Grand Valley State, a pair of Ashland University men's hammer throwers cut through the wind to earn All-American status.
Senior
Alex Hill finished in fourth place and recorded a final throw of 69.22 meters/227-feet-1, while senior
Brent Fairbanks took eighth thanks to an initial heave of 64.11 meters/210-feet-4.
For Hill, this is his ninth NCAA Division II All-American honor, and third in the hammer.
"It was exciting, definitely," Hill said. "Self-efficacy is everything. Knowing that what I've done before, if I do it again…it will produce good results. Going into that last round, I almost started welling up in tears, realizing this might be the last one in jersey. It was definitely special.
"I poured it all out there, all for God's glory. I just know, regardless of what happens, even if I would have fouled out today, I can still do that for God's glory. Just having that peace and confidence, it makes it a cool environment to be in, a fun environment to be in."
Fairbanks now is a three-time NCAA D-II All-American. He will use an extra year of eligibility the NCAA is granting due to the COVID-19 pandemic to return in 2021-22.
"I've been training really well, and I didn't compete the way I really wanted to, but I managed to pull out a team point," Fairbanks said. "I'm lending to the greater cause, which I am really happy about. I came in ranked ninth, so I wasn't expected to score any points, so that's one point over what I was expected to do.
"I was able to help the team out as much as I could."
Said Ashland head coach
Jud Logan, "Brent came in ranked ninth, and had never been an outdoor All-American. For him to make that final and get in that eighth spot…
"Alex gave it everything he had. Fourth and eighth. To come away with two All-Americans, we were thrilled."
In the men's 400-meter dash preliminaries, senior
Channing Phillips won in 47.25 seconds. In the men's 4x100 relay prelims, the quartet of juniors
Tim Rumas and
Travis Marx, freshman
Doniven Jackson and Phillips took fourth in 40.69 seconds.
On the women's side, junior
Carrol Pauley competed in the women's hammer throw on Thursday, finishing 12
th at 53.27 meters/174-feet-9.
"This is her first outdoor nationals, (and now) she sees what these girls are all about," Logan said.
In the women's 400 hurdles prelims, senior
Rachel Miller took fourth place to move on to the finals. She crossed the finish line in 1:00.11.
Senior
Trevor Bassitt did not compete in the prelims of the men's 400 hurdles due to injury.
"We had some good prelims," Logan said. "Channing ran 47.25 out of lane 9. It looked like coming off the turn that he was in dead last place. He just does what Channing does. He's the best finisher in the country.
"Seeing
Rachel Miller, just the determination on her face…was fantastic. She's ready to do something special."
Ashland's six team points on the men's side is good for tied for eighth place after Day 1.
Nationals continues on Friday (May 28) and Saturday (May 29) from GVSU. The Day 2 and 3 schedule for the Eagles follows:
Friday, May 28
2:05 p.m. – men's discus throw – Hill and Koch
2:45 p.m. – men's 200 dash prelims – Jones
3:05 p.m. – men's 800 run prelims – Johnson
3:25 p.m. – men's 110 hurdles prelims – Bassitt and Graham
4:05 p.m. – men's 4x400 relay prelims – Chaney/Jones/Phillips/Bassitt
Saturday, May 29
1:00 p.m. – men's 4x100 relay finals – Rumas/Marx/Jackson/Phillips
1:40 p.m. – men's 110 hurdles finals – Bassitt and Graham (if qualify)
2:00 p.m. – men's 400 dash finals – Phillips
2:40 p.m. – men's 800 run finals – Johnson (if qualify)
3:20 p.m. – men's 200 dash finals – Jones (if qualify)
4:00 p.m. – men's 4x400 relay finals – Chaney/Jones/Phillips/Bassitt (if qualify)
5:15 p.m. – women's high jump – Jindra
7:05 p.m. – women's 400 hurdles finals – Miller
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