Jake Waterman came to within a tick of earning an automatic berth at the upcoming NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet by posting his best time of the season in the 800-meter dash at Saturday's Stan Lyons Invitational, hosted by Butler University. Waterman was one of several Little Giant athletes who posted their best marks of the season.
Waterman finished sixth overall in the talent-laden field of Division I athletes, crossing the finish line with a time of 1:51.16. His time was 6/100th of a second away from reaching the automatic qualifying time of 1:51.1. Kevin McCarthy finished seventh in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.36, earning him a provisional berth in the NCAA championship meet and also placing him close to an automatic qualifying time. Donavan White turned in his best time of the season, as well. He finished 20th with a time of 1:54.78.
Daniel Ambrosio took second in the javelin throw with a season-best toss of 57.33 meters (188 feet, 1 inch). Matt Scheller added a season-best mark in the shot put, finishing in eighth place with a mark of 14.55 meters (47 feet, 9 inches). Joel Beier was 10th with a season-best toss of 14.38 meters (47 feet, 2.25 inches). Brad Pusateri also produced a season-best mark of 13.49 meters (44 feet, 3.25 inches) to finish 17th.
Wes Chamblee returned to championship form with an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 49.05. John Haley was 13th overall with a time of 49.34, also a season-best time.
Colin Dunlap added a season-best effort in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:02.93 to take ninth place. . Wabash relay teams also posted season-best times in the 400-meter relay (42.55) and the 1600-meter relay (3:16.89). The 1600-meter relay time was just 5/10th of a second off the provisional NCAA qualifying time.