Women's 400m IH Final Results -
Men's Shot Put Final Results -
Complete Results
Claremont, CA - Competing in the NCAA Division III Championships for Outdoor Track & Field, Messiah College sophomore
Liz Martin finished 8
th the in finals of the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (IH) on Saturday. Her performance earned her an All-American honor in the event in her first trip to championships final.
Martin finished with a time of 1:01.77 to edge Hannah Wiley (1:02.05) of Southern Main for the final All-American spot. Martin's time was the second-best of her career, just short of a 1:01.26 performance from two weeks ago at Swarthmore College.
Sophomore Heather Gearity of Montclair State ran a 1:00.27 to take the National Championship in the event. She narrowly defeated Jamie Simmons of MIT who ran a 1:00.36. Simmons led most of the way until the final stretch, with Gearity coming in front in the photo finish.
For Martin, the All-American finish capped off an impressive sophomore season. She was named the 2012 MAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after capturing championships in the 400-meter IH and 100-meter dash. Martin was also the runner-up in the 100-meter high hurdles, 3
rd in the 200-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay, and 4
th in the 4x100-meter relay.
Her aforementioned time in the 400-meter IH was the fourth-best time in NCAA Division III this season. She placed third in her preliminary heat (1:01.91) on Thursday, May 24, to advance into Saturday's final.
Martin's teammate on the men's side, freshman
Fred Fulton, finished just short of All-American in the Shot Put. Fulton advanced into the finals from his preliminary heat on the same day, but landed in 9
th place at the event's conclusion.
Fulton threw a distance of 16.72 meters (54' 10.25") to land in his final slot, trailing 8
th place Mike McPherson of Bridgewater State and his throw of 16.95 meters (55' 7.5"). Paul Davis of McMurry College won the event with a throw of 18.55 meters (60' 10.5").
Fulton's season-best throw of 17.03 meters, earned at the MAC Outdoor Championships, would have stood for #7 overall in the National Championships event.
Nevertheless, the trip to the Championships for Fulton bodes well for his future, especially considering he is wrapping up just his first year with the Falcons. This season, Fulton exploded onto the scene by breaking the Falcons' records in the indoor and outdoor shot put. He was named the 2012 MAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships Field Athlete of the Year, with his Outdoor honor coming after he broke the MAC Championships' record in the shot put (55' 10.5”). He was also the Indoor Rookie of the Year, and runner-up in the Outdoor discus.
