Williamson follows 2019 heptathlon winner Huebner for Cardinals to complete sweep of indoor and outdoor championships, with Black securing first decathlon crown; Adams State’s Flanagan, Western Colorado’s Stack add to school legacies in steeplechase, as Nelloms and Perera add outdoor victories to indoor titles 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

ALLENDALE, Mich. – Even decathlon champion Sam Black has trouble keeping pace with Saginaw Valley State teammate Cheyenne Williamson when it comes to the total number of events being contested at the NCAA Division 2 Outdoor Championships.

Black completed his 10 events over two days at Grand Valley State Track and Field Stadium by capturing the first decathlon title in program history with 7,583 points.

INTERVIEWS

By the end of the day Friday, Williamson had accumulated 10 events – including her first heptathlon crown and a third-place finish in the long jump final Thursday – and will add another two races Saturday in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, the latter with the Cardinals in contention for another championship after achieving the top seed in the prelims by clocking 3:42.80, with Williamson achieving a 54.62-second anchor split.

Williamson won the heptathlon title with a personal-best 5,595 points, improving to the No. 14 competitor in division history. Despite cold, windy conditions Friday morning, she built on her opening-day lead with a 19-2 (5.84m) effort in the long jump, followed by a personal-best 104-7 (31.89m) in the javelin and closing it out with a 2:23.07 performance in the 800 meters.

Williamson, who gave Saginaw Valley State back-to-back heptathlon championships following Lauren Huebner in 2019, became the first female athlete to sweep the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon crowns in the same year since Angelo State’s Kami Norton in 2018.

Elise Ulseth of Queens (North Carolina), fourth in 2019, improved to second with 5,414 points.

Azusa Pacific earned 13 valuable points in its quest to secure a team title, with Nicole Warwick taking third with 5,244 points, twin sister Meagan Warwick finishing fourth with 5,224 points and Jordan Hammond securing seventh with 5,036 points.

It marked the first time in the Division 2 final that one team produced three first-team All-Americans in the heptathlon since Central Missouri in 2012. That was also the last time Azusa Pacific had three All-America honorees, achieving the feat at the NAIA Championships.

Black’s victory also helped Saginaw Valley State become the first program since Central Missouri in 2011 to produce the decathlon and heptathlon national champions in the same year.

Black trailed only once in the competition, but regained the advantage Thursday in the shot put and continued to build his lead Friday, despite the pole vault being moved indoors because of inclement weather. He punctuated the title by running 4:46.80 in the 1,500 to prevail against runner-up Trey Mooney of Pittsburg State – the indoor heptathlon champion – who had 7,189 points, as the next four competitors behind Black were all separated by 60 points.

West Texas A&M earned a pair of women’s victories to close out Friday’s schedule, with freshman Taylor Nelloms sweeping the indoor and outdoor triple jump titles, rallying from a slow start to produce a wind-aided effort of 43-7.25 (13.29m) in the fourth round to secure the championship.

Nelloms became the first female athlete to earn both indoor and outdoor victories since former West Texas A&M standout Rellie Kaputin in 2017.

D’Andra Morris, a junior at University of Mary, followed her runner-up performance indoors with another second-place finish, achieving a wind-aided mark of 43-1 (13.13m).

Zada Swoopes, already with All-America honors for West Texas A&M following a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw Thursday, prevailed in the discus Friday with a fifth-round throw of 175-6 (53.49m). Swoopes is the favorite to win the shot put Saturday.

Elle Alexander propelled Azusa Pacific into the lead entering the final day of competition with 33 points, eight of them coming thanks to her runner-up finish in the discus with a first-round throw of 171-1 (52.14m).

Daisy Osakue of Angelo State, a two-time discus national champion, managed only one fair throw to go along with five fouls, and placed sixth overall at 157-2 (47.90m).

Two of the most decorated programs in the 3,000-meter steeplechase added new champions, with Western Colorado’s Taylor Stack capturing the men’s title in a personal-best 8:41.72 and Adams State’s Eilish Flanagan also securing her first career championship in 9:57.44.

Flanagan, already the Division 2 and Northern Ireland record holder at 9:40.68, joined three-time winner Alicia Nelson (2010, 2013-14), Cassie Mitchell (2011) and Brittany Somers (2007), as Adams State extended its division record with its sixth women’s steeplechase championship.

Haleigh Hunter-Galvan (10:21.81) took third and Sarah Wills (10:30.99) was seventh for the Grizzlies, who earned 18 points overall to move into team title contention. Hannah Roeske was second for host Grand Valley State in 10:16.88, placing the Lakers in second overall, one point behind Azusa Pacific.

Stack became the sixth individual winner for Western Colorado, including the first since Ryan Haebe in 2012, matching Adams State for the most men’s steeplechase crowns in division history.

Although Stack led from wire to wire to improve to the No. 13 all-time competitor in Division 2, Lee (Tennessee) standout Christian Noble – No. 6 in division history at 8:35.73 – was unable to finish the race, suffering a right knee injury on the backstretch midway through the race that required medical attention and resulted in him leaving the track on crutches.

Caleb Futter, a freshman at Grand Valley State, finished runner-up in 8:54.94 to help the Lakers grab the lead over Colorado School of Mines entering the last day of competition.

Ushan Perera of Texas A&M-Commerce, the indoor and outdoor national record holder in the high jump for Sri Lanka, prevailed in a tight battle with Isaiah Kyle of Carson-Newman and freshman Brayden Sorensen of Nebraska-Kearney after all three athletes cleared 7-1.50 (2.17m).

Perera managed to clear the height on his first attempt to become the first high jumper to sweep indoor and outdoor titles since Jeron Robinson of Texas A&M-Kingsville achieved the feat in 2013. Kyle, an eight-time All-American, took runner-up after clearing the height on his second try and Sorensen finished third following a clearance on his third opportunity.

Rajindra Campbell, who recovered from a meniscus injury during the offseason, produced the second men’s discus title in the past three national finals for Missouri Southern State with a fourth-round throw of 183-8 (55.98m).

Bryan Burns captured the 2018 title for Missouri Southern State, as Campbell rebounded from a 19th-place finish at the 2019 final to secure another championship for the Lions. Campbell, a Jamaican athlete, held off Texas A&M-Commerce standout Josh Boateng, competing for Grenada, and his second-round effort of 181-8 (55.39m).