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For Immediate Release
May 28, 2005
NWU MEN MAKE RUN, FINISH THIRD AT NATIOINALS
WAVERLY, Iowa — Nebraska Wesleyan’s
men stayed in the hunt for its first national championship in school
history until late in the day on Saturday with several All-America
performances.
Aaron Dye
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The Prairie Wolves had a strong start
Saturday, finishing runner-up in the first two events in which they
competed. The 4x100 relay of Gordie Coffin, Matt Turman, Jeff Aldrich
and Bret Blake broke the school record they set on Thursday during
qualifying. Their time of 40.47 was good for second place, and junior
Aaron Dye followed it with a runner-up finish of his own in the
1,500 (3:54.61).
“We had a great day,” Head Coach Ted Bulling said. “We’re
very proud to have four guys from Nebraska high schools run that
fast at the national meet, and Aaron ran a great race too. The guy
from Willamette (University) who beat him is quite a runner, and
Aaron really made him work for it.”
NWU moved up into second place in the team standings after Blake
and Turman took fourth and sixth, respectively, to earn All-America
honors in the 100-meter dash. Then, Blake Henning and Evan Knight
finished 5-6 in the 800, to pull the Prairie Wolves within 4.5 points
of the team lead.
“A month ago, we didn’t even know Matt Turman was a
national level sprinter, so he really finished the season well,”
Bulling said.
Blake, hoping to repeat as national champion in the 200, settled
for fourth place, but kept Nebraska Wesleyan within striking range
until competitors from Lincoln University (Pa.) finished first and
fifth in the triple jump to overtake the University of Wisconsin-La
Crosse in the team standings for good.The
4x400 relay of Ben Thayer, Blake, Knight and Chris Wolf placed third
in 3:12.24 behind UW-La Crosse and Lincoln to wrap up Nebraska Wesleyan’s
seventh top-three outdoor team finish since 1990.
Lincoln won the meet with 69 points, followed by UW-La Crosse with
66.5, Nebraska Wesleyan with 54 and Willamette with 43.
Bret Blake |
Counting the two relays and his All-America performances in the
100 and 200, Blake became just the third athlete in NWU men’s
track history to earn four All-America awards at one NCAA Div. III
meet, joining Scott Nelson, who accomplished the feat in the same
events in 1996, and Brian Hauff, who was an All-American in the
110 and 400 hurdles in addition to the relays in 1998.
“Bret ran eight races in three days, so he was a little tired,
but it was still a great finish to his career,” Bulling said.
Blake ended his college career as a 15-time All-American, passing
Gary Wasserman for third all-time in Nebraska Wesleyan men’s
track and field, behind only Steve Reynolds and Hauff, who both
were 17-time All-Americans.
For complete results, click
here.
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