It was the end of one of the best NCAA Division II track and field careers of all time, as Ashland University senior
Trevor Bassitt went out with a bang on Saturday (May 28) on the third and final day of the 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Grand Valley State.
Bassitt's time of 48.98 seconds in the men's 400-meter hurdles finals gave him his 10
th national championship, a new PR in the event, and slots him at No. 4 all-time in D-II in the event.
That national title, along with three other All-American showings by the Eagle men on Saturday, allowed them to move up from 19
th place through Friday's (May 27) action to finish in fifth place with 34 team points. Pittsburg State (70) won the men's team title, followed by West Texas A&M (61), Grand Valley State (56) and Texas A&M-Commerce (48).
Ashland's men's run of nine consecutive indoor/outdoor podium finishes ended on Saturday, but they now have a streak of finishing in the top five at nationals 10 times in a row.
In the men's 4x100 finals, the quartet of senior
Tim Rumas, sophomore
Doniven Jackson, senior
Channing Phillips and senior
Aaron Banks set yet another school record at 39.33 seconds, good for a second-place showing. Rumas has six All-American citations and Jackson three, and Phillips and Banks weren't done.
The men's 4x400 finals saw the team of senior
Ryan Rager, Phillips, freshman
Noah Wood and Bassitt place fourth in 3:08.22. That left Bassitt with 21 career All-American honors, Phillips with 13, Rager with two and Wood with one.
Banks earned his second All-American award of the day and of his AU career by placing fifth in the men's 200 dash in 20.64 seconds. It was a PR time once again for Banks, who was peaking at the right time of the season.
In the men's shot put, sophomore
Noah Koch was 17
th at 17.16 meters/56-feet-3¾.
Ashland's women ended with four team points and tied for 42
nd place.
AU
TF/DS
