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PUEBLO, Colo. – Senior Dan Johnson is eighth through the first day of the decathlon and junior Corinne Fitzgerald qualified for the final of the 3000m steeplechase for East Stroudsburg University at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which began Thursday at Colorado State-Pueblo.
Johnson and Fitzgerald will both go after All-America honors with top-eight finishes in their events on Friday. Johnson will contest the final five events of the decathlon beginning at 10 a.m. MT (12 p.m. ET), and Fitzgerald will run in the steeplechase final at 9:15 p.m. ET.
Fitzgerald, seeded 15th in a field of 18 entering the meet, qualified for the 12th and final spot for Friday night's final with a time of 11:23.87. She came in with a seeded time of 10:41.72, breaking her own school record at the Penn Relays in April. The top time on Thursday night was 10:44.67 by Susan Tanui of Alaska Anchorage with the runners contending with the altitude and heat in Pueblo.
Fitzgerald, the PSAC champion, is making her second straight trip to the NCAA Championships in the event after placing 15th last spring. She also ran at the NCAA Championships in cross country this fall in Spokane, Washington.
Johnson, a six-time provisional qualifier who is making his first appearance at the NCAA Championships, has 3,433 points and is less than 100 points off his day one total from the PSAC Championships on May 3. He won that meet with a huge second day, finishing with a school-record 6,925 points which was the sixth-best score in Division II this year.
Johnson had marks of 11.69 seconds in the 100m dash, 19-9 3/4 in the long jump, 36-10 1/2 in the shot put, 6-6 in the high jump and 50.75 in the 400m run. He had the field's second-best mark in the high jump and will compete in the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m run on Friday. Johnson set personal bests in four of those five events at the PSAC Championships.
Johnson is the first ESU men's athlete to compete in a multi event (heptathlon or decathlon) at the NCAA Championships. He was a provisional qualifier both indoors and outdoors as a sophomore, junior and senior and won PSAC championships in both events this year.
Junior Matt Tholis will round out the Warriors' three qualifiers when he competes in the javelin on Saturday. A Division III national qualifier at Rowan in 2010, Tholis is seeded ninth with a mark of 212-6 and was the PSAC runner-up. He is one of five PSAC athletes competing in the men's javelin.
Thursday results
3000m Steeplechase (prelims)
12. Corinne Fitzgerald – 11:23.87 [qualifies for final on Friday, 9:15 p.m. ET]
Decathlon (first 5 events)
8. Dan Johnson – 3,433 points
Johnson's marks Thursday (compared to PSAC Championships, May 3-4 - school record 6,925)
100m – 11.69 (11.64 - PR)
Long Jump – 19-9 3/4 (20-2 1/4)
Shot Put – 36-10 1/2 (38-9)
High Jump – 6-6 (6-6)
400m – 50.75 (50.55 - PR)
