TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Whitworth took home the third place trophy behind three top three individual finishes on Saturday at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Cody Stelzer (Jr., The Dalles, Ore.) took home a first place finish in the high jump by clearing 2.11 meters (6'-11"). His mark is a new indoor team record for Whitworth and is just off of his outdoor best of 6'-11.5"). He took three attempts at 7'-0.25", but just brushed the bar on his final attempt. Todd Wildman of Trinity (Texas) was second in 2.08 meters (6'-9.75"). Stelzer is now the reigning NCAA Division III high jump champion in both indoor and outdoor competition. He struggled early, missing once each at 2.0 and 2.05 meters, and he had to clear 2.08 on his third attempt.
"Cody was able to compete hard on a day he didn't feel his best," said Whitworth head coach Toby Schwarz. "That's what makes him a champion."
Emmanuel Bofa (Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) finished second in a closely-contested 800 meter final. He crossed the line in 1:53.80, just behind Jimmy O'Brien of Ohio Northern who won with a time of 1:53.34. O'Brien took the lead on the second lap. Bofa moved up behind O'Brian on the third lap, but could not get by him at the end.
"Emmanuel came out of cross country season with a stress fracture and never had an opportunity to do any speed training this winter," said Schwarz. "What he did this weekend is a credit to his determination.".
Jeff Kintner (Jr., Wenatchee, Wash.) took third in the shot put with a career-best toss of 16.83 meters (55'-2.75"). His trophy-winning throw came on his first attempt of the day. Bobby Riley of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the event with a mark of 17.51 meters (57'-5.5"). Whitworth's Michael Nahl (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) did not advance out of the preliminaries after a toss of 14.63 meters (48'-0").
Wisconsin-Oshkosh tied Wisconsin-La Crosse for the men's championship with 32 points apiece. Whitworth totaled 24 points for third place, followed by McMurry (Texas) with 23 and Buena Vista (Iowa) with 21.
"We went into the meet with an opportunity to win and with the mind set of coming away with a trophy," said Schwarz. "We are very content with our third place finish."
The trophy will be added to a case that includes last season's third place finish in the NCAA Division III outdoor championships.