Behind junior Hanneus Ollison’s 18 individual points and 14 relay points, the McMurry University (Texas) men’s track and field team captured its first NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship Saturday (May 24) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wis. McMurry University finished with 35 team points, the lowest winning point total in the history of the event.

Ollison took the 400-meter run in a time of 46.40 and took second-place in the long jump with a leap of 23-6 as McMurry University recorded its second top-five finish in school history at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championship. The team tied for fourth-place in 2006.

Heading into the final event of the meet, the 1,600-meter relay, McMurry University needed to finish at least in fourth-place to secure the national championship. The relay team of freshman Terry Smith, freshman Bryce Williamson, senior John Mikalik and Ollison finished in third-place in a time of 3:13.30.

Earlier Saturday, junior Chris Kelley, Mikalik, junior Bert Green and Ollison teamed to win the 400-meter relay in a time of 40.54.

Also scoring a point for McMurry University was Green in the 100-meter dash with his eighth-place finish in a time of 10.87.

State University of New York-Cortland captured second-place in the men’s standings with 33 points while Whitworth University (Wash.) nabbed third-place with 31, Mount Union College (Ohio) took fourth-place with 27 and Wartburg College (Iowa) and the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) tied for fifth-place with 25. The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, St. John’s University (Minn.) and Emory University (Ga.) all tied for seventh-place with 23 points while Monmouth College (Ill.) took tenth-place with 22. A total of 81 teams scored points.

Other event winners at the 2008 meet included senior Beresford Brown of Moravian College (Pa.) taking the decathlon with 7,192 points. Hamilton College (N.Y.) sophomore Peter Kosgei and State University of New York-Cortland senior Amaan Siddeeq each won two events during the championships. Kosgei took the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 8:55.19 and the 5,000-meter run in a time of 14:32.57 to earn NCAA Division III Male Track Athlete of the Meet honors. Siddeeq swept the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.59 and the 200-meter dash in a time of 21.29.

Winners on the track included senior Tyler Sigl of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the 10,000-meter run in a time of 30:34.51, senior Andy Hodge of Wartburg College in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 3:46.89, senior Jarod Renford of Greenville College (Ill.) in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.22, sophomore Russell Dill of Tri-State University (Ind.) in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 51.30 and sophomore Emmanuel Bofa of Whitworth University in the 800-meter run in a time of 1:51.01. The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point took the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 3:12.09 in the final event of the championship.

Field event winners included sophomore Cody Stelzer of Whitworth University in the high jump with a mark of 6-11 1/2, senior Francis Nugent of the University of Redlands (Calif.) in the long jump with a distance of 23-6 3/4, senior Dan Hytinen of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the discus throw with a fling of 196-5, senior Mark O’Connell of the University of St. Thomas in the hammer throw with a heave of 191-0, sophomore Kamar Jones of Fisk University (Tenn.) in the triple jump with a leap of 48-11 3/4, senior Stephen Burns of Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) in the javelin with a toss of 207-10 and senior Dan Gund of Mount Union College in the shot put with a cast of 57-2 3/4.

Hytinen was named the 2008 NCAA Division III Men’s Field Athlete of the Meet with his winning performance in the discus. He set a NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship record with his winning throw and met the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standards.

In Saturday’s action, after finishing runner-up in 2007, Jones took the triple jump championship at 48-11 3/4. Messiah College (Pa.) senior Nick Kipe took second-place with a jump of 48-10 and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh sophomore James Simms nabbed third-place with a distance of 48-7 1/4. Kipe had a third-place showing a year ago.

Burns took the javelin with a throw of 207-10. Concordia University Wisconsin sophomore Brock Solveson grabbed second-place with a fling of 207-10 and Westfield State College (Mass.) senior Drew Soltysiak took third-place with a throw of 206-11. Soltysiak captured eighth-place in 2007.

Hodge took the lead on the final lap and ran to the title in the 1,500-meter run with a J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium record time of 3:46.89. It was also a season-best time for NCAA Division III. Williams College (Mass.) junior Mack Chaffee landed in second-place in a time of 3:47.43 while Elmhurst College (Ill.) junior Brian McConnell finished in third-place in a time of 3:48.02. McConnell took fifth-place a year ago.

The McMurry University 400-meter relay team repeated as national champions with a NCAA Division III season-best winning time of 40.54. Nebraska Wesleyan University was second-place in a time of 40.77 and Christopher Newport University (Va.) landed in third-place in a time of 40.78.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point earned the national title in the 1,600-meter relay with a NCAA Division III season-best time of 3:12.09. The Pointers were eighth last year. Central College (Iowa) was second-place in a time of 3:12.75 while McMurry University took third-place in a time of 3:13.30. Central College was fourth a year ago.

After an eighth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships, Renford won this year’s title with a J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium record time of 14.22. It was also a NCAA Division III season-best. Freshman William Brown of Montclair State University (N.J.) was second-place in a time of 14.28 while junior Dorran Coley of Thiel College (Pa.) tallied a third-place time of 14.39. Coley took the second-place slot in 2007.

Ollison set a NCAA Division III season's best and J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium record in winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 46.40. Senior Freddy Linton of Emory University and junior Luke Reschke of Monmouth College earned All-America honors for the second straight year. Linton, who grabbed fourth-place a year ago, finished in second-place in a time of 47.03 while Reschke, who finished in sixth-place in 2007, was third-place in a time of 47.63.

After finishing in second-position in the 100-meter dash last season, top seeded Siddeeq took top honores in a time of 10.59. Junior Joe Reed of State University of New York-Oneonta has a second-place time of 10.66, while junior Orlando Walton of the University of Dubuque (Iowa) was third-place in a time of 10.72. Walton was also took third-place in 2007.

Siddeeq also captured the 200-meter dash winning with a time of 21.29. He finished in ninth-place in the event a year ago. Reed ran to second-place in a time of 21.39, while Williams College senior Andrew Arons landed in the third-position in a time of 21.40.

Bofa earned All-America honors for the second straight season in the 800-meter run as he captured the national title with a time of 1:51.01. Bofa was a fourth-place finisher a year ago. University of Wisconsin-Superior senior Matt Kramer also earned back-to-back All-America honors as he finished in second-place at 1:51.29 after capturing seventh-place in 2007. Nazareth College (N.Y.) senior Nick Stenuf had a third-place showing in a time of 1:51.62.

Dill held off defending national champion Augustana College (Ill.) junior Ted McMillan to win the 400-meter hurdles. Dill also broke McMillan’s J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium record with a winning time of 51.30. McMillan finished in second-place in a time of 51.45, while University of St. Thomas senior P.J. Theisen snatched third-place in a time of 51.92.

Gund took the shot put title with a mark of 57-2 3/4, while Bridgewater College (Va.) junior Nathan Turner was a runner-up performer at 54-6 1/2. Gund’s teammate, sophomore Judd Lutz, grabbed a third-place showing with a throw of 54-2 1/2.

Kosgei won the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:32.57 while St. John’s University senior Chris Erichsen took second-place in a time of 14:35.34 and Sigl captured third-place in a time of 14:37.69. Erichsen finished in fourth-place in 2007 while Sigl added a runner-up showing.