SPORTS STORIES:
SPARTAN TRACK AND FIELD — 2008/09
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS...
CLEVELAND, OH (May 22, 2009) - Case Western Reserve University's Obinna Nwanna (Maumee, OH) ended his junior season in style today at the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Marietta, Ohio.
Nwanna, a three-time national qualifier, placed eighth in the decathlon with 6,649 points earning All-America honors for the second time in three months. He was an All-American this past indoor season in the pentathlon.
“It’s not that often that you see all the All-Americans [Top 8] finish above the automatic qualifying mark [6,600 points],” Head Coach Steve Rubin explained. “It was a PR for Obi, but it was really tough. He’s not a 1,500 [meter run] runner so he has to build up a good cushion going into that race which he did.”
Nwanna, who was in third place after day one’s [Thursday] five events, won the shot put (14.68m) and finished third in the discus (37.16m). He placed fifth in the pole vault (4.15m) and long jump (6.77m), and sixth in the high jump (1.91m) and 110-meter hurdles (15.65). Nwanna also finished ninth in the 100-meter dash (11.41), 15th in both the javelin (39.24m) and 400-meter dash (52.97), and 16th in the 1,500-meter run (5:15.77).
“It’s a great feeling,” Nwanna said. “I have come a long way since last year when I started doing the multi-events. I started off great but after the high jump I got a little sore. I still managed to stay in the top eight and I am pretty proud of that.”
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