BEXLEY, OHIO 3/11/11 – Friday turned out to be an All-American day for five Keene State College athletes competing at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships at Capital University in Bexley Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.
Senior Bryan Kolacz (Brentwood, N.H.) began the day by earning All-American honors by finishing seventh in the weight throw event and the Owl distance medley relay team of senior Amy Knoblock (Plymouth, Mass.) sophomores Janel Haggerty (Guilford, Conn.) and Maggie Fitter (Branford, Conn.) and junior Paige Mills (Keene, N.H.) concluded the day by racing to All-America honors with their third place finish. In between events, Knoblock posted the fifth best time in the trials of the mile, qualifying for the finals on Saturday.
Kolacz, who had the top mark (65'-9") coming into the meet, couldn't duplicate that throw, settling for seventh place with a mark of 62'-7.75". KSC throwing Coach John Napolitano was surprised by the distances recorded by the top performers. "A few guys came out of nowhere to throw over 63 feet. That's pretty remarkable," he said. "Bryan had a good day, he just couldn't catch them."
"I went out and gave it my best shot," said Kolacz, who finished sixth in the event last year. "Overall, it wasn't a bad day, but certainly not up to my expectations."
Peter Delzer, a sophomore from Wisconsin-Oshkosh, captured the national championship with a throw of 64'-3.75".
Making her first trip to the nationals, Knoblock finished third in her mile heat with the fifth best time of 5:00.12. "I felt nervous at the start, but had a good kick at the end," she said. Knoblock gets to run another day, qualifying for the finals on Saturday. Catie Ellington, a senior from Simpson (IA) College recorded the top time of 4:57.28 in the trials.
Two and a half hours later, Knoblock was back on the track, running the first leg of the DMR. Running more relaxed, the senior took the lead in her last lap before handing the baton to Haggerty. Haggerty did her job maintaining Keene State's lead and passing the stick to Maggie Fitter. Fitter ran the third leg, keeping the Owls in second place. Mills took over from there, setting a personal record by six seconds in the mile. "I felt in control the entire race," said Mills. "During the last lap I envisioned us stepping on the podium. That's what got me through the race."
KSC actually had a shot to win the race in the last lap, but strong kicks by Middlebury's Margo Cramer and Liz Phillips of Washington (Mo.) University was the difference.
Middlebury won the race with a time of 11:47.96 followed by Washington (Mo) at 11:49.10 and Keene State with a school record time of 11:50.99.
KSC Coach Peter Thomas said Knoblock's first leg put the Owls in good position. "I told her, she had to give us a lead and followed the strategy," he said.
Keene State continued its success in the DMR. Previously, the Owls earned All-America honors four times (2002, 2003, 2006, and 2008), including the national championship in 2006.
Seeded seventh going into the race, Mills and her teammates were extremely pleased with its third place performance. "I couldn't be any happier," said Mills. "No one expected us to finish so high.
Mills will run in the 5,000-meter race on Saturday.
