University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
NCAA Indoor Championships
NATIONAL CHAMPION: Mulder Wins 800 Meters
3/15/2008 8:00:00 AM | Track and Field
March 15, 2008
Team Scores
The last Panther to compete, junior Tyler Mulder claimed the national championship in the men's 800 meters, becoming the third athlete in UNI history to claim a Division I title and the first since Jacob Pauli won the indoor pole vault crown in 2001.
The Orange City, Iowa, native did so with a spectacular kick over the race's final 50 meters, breaking to the outside of then-leader Elkana Kosgei of LSU as he hit the frontstretch for the final time and winning what became a drag race to the finish line.
Mulder clocked in at 1 minute, 49.20 seconds to fend off Kosgei, who finished in 1:49.47, and
In the process, Mulder propelled the Panthers to their second-consecutive ninth-place finish in the men's team race. That matches UNI's performance at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships and matches the highest-ever finish by a Missouri Valley Conference team at the indoor national meet.
UNI scored 18 points as a team, with
"We're proud of the way we competed on Saturday," UNI head coach Chris Bucknam said. "To get another top-10 finish is a great accomplishment for the
Fifth after 600 meters, Mulder began his sprint to the finish through the final turn but found himself boxed in and running in third place as the leaders hit the final straightaway. That's when Mulder slipped to the outside for his final push, which carried him to a split of 27.49 seconds for the final 200 meters. Only Ridgewell clocked a faster final split, completing his final lap in 27.47.
"I really didn't know if I was going to be able to get to the outside, but then it opened up, just like the coaches said it would," Mulder said. "I knew I had to be patient instead of going too early."
The clocking was the third-fastest indoor 800 meters of Mulder's career, trailing only the 1:48.17 he turned in at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 16 to enter the NCAA Championships ranked sixth nationally, and the 1:49.15 he clocked in the 2007 edition of the Iowa State Classic.
"That was an extremely smart race that
Mulder earned his second-consecutive All-America honor in the event and gave the Panthers their third All-America performance in the 800 meters in the last two seasons. Mulder took 10th at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, while Kyle Smith earned a third-place finish.
Mulder's title is UNI's second NCAA championship in a track event, as Joey Woody claimed the outdoor 400-meter hurdles crown in 1997.
"It really shows the hard work our coaches have put in over the years to get us to this level, where we can compete with some of those big-name schools," Mulder said. "It's great to get the championship, and now I just want to continue that success and compete like a champion."
Oamen Claims All-America Honors In High Jump
Sophomore Ehi Oamen also earned All-America honors Saturday, posting a career-best mark to secure a third-place finish in the men's high jump
Oamen cleared a personal-best 7 feet, 2 1/4 inches on his first attempt at that height to claim the highest-ever finish by a UNI athlete in the high jump at an NCAA championship, becoming the Panthers' first All-American in the event in the process.
A native of Hinton, Iowa, Oamen cleared each of the first three heights on his first attempt, making quick work of bars at 6-10 1/4 and 7-0 1/4 before clearing the height that secured his finish. Oamen then missed on each of his three attempts at 7-3 1/4, including an extremely narrow miss on his second try.
"It felt great when I was jumping, things were just clicking," Oamen said. "I always try to be a first-attempt jumper, but with it being the national meet, I think adrenaline really helped me out."
UNI's other jumper who qualified to compete in the championship meet, sophomore Julian Morris, missed on each of his three attempts at the opening height of 6-10 1/4 and failed to record a mark.
Oamen, who finished runner-up to Morris at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, owned a personal-best of 7-1 3/4 entering the NCAA championships. He cleared seven feet or better for the third time in his indoor career. Oamen owns a personal-best of 7-1 outdoors and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season.
Cepeda,
Senior Mat Clark also earned All-America distinction with an 11th-place finish.
Cepeda, now a four-time All-American, used a strong showing in the pole vault to move up three spots in the heptathlon standings after entering the day 10th overall. The senior amassed 5,657 points to claim seventh place.
UNI junior Mat Clark finished 11th, with a career-best total of 5,613 points, in his first NCAA championships competition and will earn All-America honors as the eighth-best American finisher.
Clark, who began the day in 12th place in the overall standings, opened the day with a personal-best run of 8.72 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. That performance allowed him to slip into a tie for 11th with
Cepeda clocked in at 8.26 in the 60 hurdles to hold steady in 10th place in the overall standings with his strongest event, the pole vault, yet to come.
Passing on the first 10 heights, Cepeda finally made a pole vault attempt with the bar at 15-11 and was able to earn a clearance on his first attempt. He also cleared 16-6 3/4 on his first try at that height to move on for a chance to match his career-best clearance of 16-10 3/4.
All three of his attempts at 16-10 3/4 were narrow misses that saw Cepeda clip the bar with his hands on the descent after clearing it with his body.
Cepeda's successful clearance of 16-6 3/4 earned the senior 926 points to push his total score after six events to 4,878 and move him into sixth place in the overall standings.
Cepeda turned in a time of 2:48.76 in the 1,000.
Panthers Compete in Women's Shot Put, Pentathlon
Freshman Olimpia Nowak earned a 14th-place finish in her first NCAA championships competition, scoring 3,878 points, while sophomore teammate Dani Stipe was 16th with a score of 3,806.
Stipe, also making her first appearance in the NCAA Indoor Championships after qualifying for the outdoor national meet in 2007, posted the second-highest pentathlon score of her career.
Stipe and Nowak ran nearly stride-for-stride in the day's opening event, the 60-meter hurdles, with Stipe clocking in at 8.76 and Nowak posting a time of 8.78 seconds. The duo held down the 10th and 11th spots, respectively, in the overall standings after one event.
Stipe cleared 5 feet, 5 1/4 in the high jump, while Nowak managed a height of 5-4 1/4.
In the the shot put, Nowak threw 37-6 3/4, with Stipe posting a best effort of 31-6.
Stipe then posted her second-best effort of the season in the long jump, leaping 18-10, while Nowak jumped 18-2 1/4.
An impressive kick over the final 50 meters pushed Nowak to a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters, the pentathlon's final event. The freshman cut nearly five seconds off her previous personal-best in the race, clocking in at 2:20.67. Stipe was eighth in the 800 with a time of 2:24.41.
Senior Rachel Jansen, who took fourth in last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, was unable to record a fair throw in three attempts, fouling on each of her chances. Jansen, who entered the meet ranked sixth in the nation in the shot, was seeking to become the first woman in UNI history to earn All-America honors four times.
Players Mentioned
