Colorado School of Mines, Azusa Pacific standouts earn first championships in event, Ourega is first female athlete from Academy of Art to achieve back-to-back titles, with Essemiah also defending hammer throw crown for Grand Valley State

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Two of the most accomplished distance runners in NCAA Division 2 history finally added national titles to their career resumes Thursday night at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich.

Dillon Powell of Colorado School of Mines and Azusa Pacific’s Jennifer Sandoval both relied on late surges to triumph in the 10,000 meters, not only securing their first individual championships, but the first in the event for their respective programs.

Sandoval covered the final lap in 64.69 seconds to prevail in 33:35.76, pulling away in the final 300 meters from Adams State’s Brianna Robles (33:37.63) and Fatima Alanis of Queens (33:39.14), as six athletes produced sub-34 performances.

Robles led for the first 24 laps, consistently producing splits of 80 and 81 seconds, before running a 76-second penultimate 400, as she and Alanis and Sandoval were all separated by less than a second heading into the backstretch for the final time.

Sandoval elevated from second behind Ida Narbuvoll of UMary last season, Robles ascended from fifth to second and Alanis took third for the second straight year, but improved on her previous-best effort April 8 at Lee University by more than 13 seconds.

Powell decided to make his move with a mile to go and closed the last four laps in 4:15.85 to capture the title in 28:44.97, leading three Orediggers earning All-America honors, with Kyle Moran (29:13.15) and Duncan Fuehne (29:29.82) securing seventh.

Awet Beraki of Adams State, the leader at 7,000 meters, placed second in 28:54.97 and Afewerki Zeru of UC-Colorado Springs was third in 29:02.83, as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference took the top three spots on the podium.

Powell covered the final 800 in 2:04.27, and in doing so, was able to move past the disappointment of not finishing the 10-kilometer race at the Division 2 cross country final in November in Saint Leo, Florida.

French athlete Marie-Jeanne Ourega of Academy of Art repeated as long jump champion with a second-round effort of 20-10.75 (6.37m), becoming the first female athlete in program history to secure back-to-back titles in any outdoor event.

M’Smyra Seward, who plays third base for the Fayetteville State softball team, secured second overall with a lifetime-best leap of 20-5 (6.22m) in the fourth round. Seward had only jumped twice in May following the softball season and held off Makayla Jackson of Minnesota State at 20-4.50 (6.21m) and Hannah Meek of UC Colorado Springs at 20-4.25 (6.20m) to earn her first All-America honors.

Saginaw Valley State’s Cheyenne Williamson, the two-time heptathlon national champion, jumped only once and placed fifth with a mark of 20-2.25 (6.15m).

Judith Essemiah of Grand Valley State, a Dutch athlete, became the first female athlete to repeat in the hammer throw since Heavin Warner of Central Missouri in 2014-16, capping her series with a mark of 207-8 (63.31m) in the sixth round.

Northern State’s Tanner Berg triumphed in the men’s hammer throw in the sixth round with a 228-4 (69.61m) performance, with last year’s winner Austin Combs of Findlay placing second at 222-9 (67.91m).

Harding’s Dorian Chaigneau made a calculated risk in the men’s pole vault final and it paid significant dividends in capturing the championship with an 18-0.50 (5.50m) clearance.

Vincent Hobbie of Central Missouri and Chaigneau both cleared 17-8.50 (5.40m) on their first attempts. Chaigneau missed two opportunities at 17-10.50 (5.45m), before deciding to move the bar to 18-0.50 and he successfully cleared the height.

Central Missouri’s Christopher Goodwin won the men’s long jump title with a wind-aided mark of 26-0.25 (7.93m) in the fifth round. Kizan David of Lincoln in Missouri was runner-up for the second year in a row with a wind-aided leap of 25-10.75 (7.89m).