Kevin Becker’s victory in the hammer throw and a pair of top-three finishes in the pole vault helped defending champion University of Wisconsin-La Crosse widen its lead on the second day of the NCAA Division III men’s outdoor track and field championships at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wis.

The Eagles, who are bidding for their 11th NCAA Division III men’s track and field title and their sixth in the past seven years, racked up 35 points in the meet, comfortably ahead of host University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh which stands second with 16, followed by Monmouth College (Ill.) with 14 and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with 13.

The competitors enjoyed a remarkable shift in weather conditions. After enduring fierce winds and torrential rains on Thursday (May 24), athletes were greeted Friday (May 25) by sunshine, temperatures in the 70's and only an occasional light breeze.

Hamilton College (N.Y.) freshman Peter Kosgei made the day’s most noteworthy debut, racing to a six-second victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase while recording a NCAA Division III season best time of 8:55.41. That easily eclipsed the previous best of 9:01.23 turned in by Alex Ramon of Occidental College (Calif.), who placed third in 9:01.63. Kosgei surprised the field after being ranked 10th entering the meet, with a previous best time of 9:09.78.

Becker’s win in the hammer throw was closer to form. The NCAA Division III leader throughout the year, Becker landed a mark of 198-10 on his first throw and withstood a late challenge from State University of New York-Brockport senior Jake Basher (196-1).

The pole vault was the most productive event for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Peter Sprecher of Monmouth College (Ill.) and John Heinz of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse each cleared 16-3 1/4 but Sprecher did so with fewer attempts, securing a national crown in his second championship appearance. Still, the Eagles picked up additional points from Matt Novak, who was part of a three-way tie for third at 15-9 1/4, along with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Zach Johnson and Ryan Schipper of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.).

Second-place University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh also got a fourth-place showing from Jacob Gabrilska in the hammer throw (182-2) and a seventh-place finish from Steve Nowak in the decathlon (6,638 points).

University of Redlands (Calif.) junior Francis Nugent held off a late charge from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point senior Kyle Steiner to claim the decathlon crown after a runner-up finish a year ago. Nugent bested the decathlon field in the 110-meter hurdles (15.31 seconds) and discus (138-5), then built a near-insurmountable 226 point lead with a second-place effort in the javelin (181-0), the next-to-last event. Steiner was the top finisher in the final event, the 1,500-meter run (4:24.03), while Nugent was eighth (4:45.44). Despite the harsh conditions for yesterday's events,  Nugent closed with 7,199 points, well over his season-best of 6,635 and bettering his 2006 total of 7,005.

Augustana College (Ill.) sophomore Ted McMillan emerged from a pack of five high jumpers to claim his first NCAA Division III championship with a leap of 6-9. Al Winsley of Mississippi College, Cody Stelzer of Whitworth College (Wash.), Mitch Ellis of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Brad Zarembski of Defiance College (Ohio) all cleared 6-8. McMillan was fourth in last year’s high jump but it was the first time in the top eight for all seven of Friday’s other placewinners.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse also advanced three more athletes out of Friday preliminaries. Jamar Jackson moved on to Saturday’s 110-meter hurdles final, Tony Marcinek has a spot in the 400-meter final - and was the fastest finisher (47.08 seconds) - and Marcus Walgrave advanced to the 100-meter final.

University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth senior Jonathan Garcia was the top performer in the 110-meter hurdles preliminaries, winning his heat in 14.32 seconds, only .01 second off his season best. Willie Hordge of State University of New York-Buffalo was the fastest in the 100-meters in a season-best 10.40 seconds and top-ranked Ohio Northern University sophomore Jimmy O’Brien was the class of the 800-meter preliminary field (1:50.74).