SPORTS STORIES:
SPORTS INFORMATION—2008
INDOOR TRACKS NWANNA NAILS FIRST DIV. III PENTATHLON...
CLEVELAND, OH (December 15, 2008) - If the NCAA ever comes out with their version of the popular board game Trivial Pursuit, Case Western Reserve University junior Obinna Nwanna just might be an answer. The question would be… Who was the first NCAA Division III athlete to become a national qualifier in the pentathlon?
You now know the answer to the question, but may not know a whole lot about the event. The indoor pentathlon covers five events as the athletes run both the 55-meter hurdles and 1,000-meter run, do both the long and high jump and throw the shot put. The most points tallied wins.
The Maumee, Ohio, native did just that recently in the Veale Center on Case Western Reserve’s campus. He tallied 3,723 points [click here for full results] while posting three personal records [55m, long jump, shot put] in the five events. His point total was a NCAA Division III provisional qualifier.
“It is only Obi’s second year of doing the multi events so this was a very clear marker of his progression,” Head Coach Steve Rubin said. “There are a lot of things we have seen in practice that have indicated he is very far along, but you never really know until you get to the competition.”
“He was relaxed [Saturday],” Rubin continued. “So many of the events are technical and when you are first learning you have to think a lot and process things. It makes you uptight and inhibits your ability to be fast, powerful and fluid. The technical side is becoming more instinctive and more of a reaction now, allowing Obi to perform optimally.”
Nwanna, who is majoring in biomedical engineering, made his first trip to nationals last spring during the outdoor season and although he failed to register a mark in the men’s high jump, it was a great experience. The University Athletic Association high jump champion made significant stride in multi events towards the end of the season, including a NCAA provisional qualifying mark [6,074 points] in the decathlon.
“Some of the skill transfers,” Nwanna explained. “To be a good jumper you have to have strong legs and that would transfer to the shot. The hurdles are pretty intimidating at first… you don’t want to trip over them, so you jump way to high at first.”
So has trying new events through the pentathlon or decathlon possibly steered this national qualifier away from his first love – the high jump?
“There is still a place for the high jump,” Nwanna said. “I like the high jump, but not as part of the decathlon because when I am jumping I like to focus on that. During the decathlon or pentathlon I like the hurdles and the shot.”
The Case Western Reserve coaching staff believes that officially adding the pentathlon to the indoor events list not only allows a few more people the chance to qualify for nationals, but will also give decathletes more time to practice for their event during the winter months.
“It gives us a chance to start multi-training earlier,” Nwanna explained. “I think it will set the bar higher because people are already training, coming in with more experience from the pentathlon into the decathlon.”
The Case Western Reserve track and field team’s first official meet is January 24 when they host their annual Spartans Relays.
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