NCAA Div. III 800 Meters Results

DELAWARE, OHIO (May 27, 2011) – For the first time in the four year history of the Vassar College men's track program, the Brewers qualified two runners for the Division III National Championship – senior Jonathan Erickson and sophomore Sam Wagner -- both competing in the 800 meters in preliminary heats on Friday evening at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Both Erickson and Wagner were racing against the top 800 meter runners in the country, and while neither posted times in their heats to advance to the finals on Saturday (the top two finishers from each heat advance), both runners capped off memorable seasons by representing Vassar at the national championships.

Wagner ran in the first of three heats and finished 15th overall out of 19 runners with a time of 1:52.21. Erickson ran in the third heat and his 1:52.30 finish was 16th best overall.

“Both races went out very fast, the preliminaries were very quick,” said head coach James McCowan after both runners had finished on Friday evening. “This was a very fast year for runners attempting to make it into the finals. We're very proud of both runners for making history.”

McCowan said that Wagner, who has only a month's worth of experience in the 800 meters, did a good job of getting into position in the early stages of the race. “We've been working with Sam to be a little more patient, but it's difficult for a new runner to this event,” McCowan explained. Wagner actually took the lead in the race on the back straightaway, but according to McCowan “ran out of gas on the home stretch.”

Said McCowan: “Getting to nationals is a big thing, and for Sam it takes experience on how to race once you're here. Today's race will serve him well in the future. He had an incredible season.”

Erickson ran in the third heat that went out extremely fast and aggressive, the first lap at roughly 53 seconds. McCowan said that Erickson held his position and did make his move in the last turn, “like we want him to.” Erickson's time of 1:52.30 was the second fastest of his career.

“I couldn't have wanted anything more for Jon than to finish his career at nationals, which has always been his goal,” McCowan said. “For him to do this his senior year is very exciting. He was in a heat with runners who advanced to the national finals last year, and came away with his second best time of his career. I couldn't have been prouder of what he accomplished this season.”