Men's and Women's Track & Field

May 22, 2009

Tiger Men Finish Sixth at NCAA Championships

Marietta, Ohio – Trinity University senior Todd Wildman of Dallas (Jesuit) was runner-up Saturday in the 110-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division III Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, earning a sixth-place team finish for the Tiger men's team.

Wildman, who garnered his second All-America recognition at the meet – and third overall - ran the hurdles in 14.29 seconds at Marietta College. He was .05 seconds behind the winner, Edgar Townsend of Greenville College, with a time of 14.24 seconds. On Thursday, Wildman had an All-America performance in the long jump. He finished sixth with a jump of 22 feet, 10 ¾ inches (6.98 meters). The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year won the NCAA Indoor pentathlon championship last March at Terre Haute, Ind.

The Tiger men, led by first-year head coach David Svoboda, placed in a tie for sixth place (with Whitworth) in the outdoor team competition, with 23 points, their highest-ever finish. Trinity also placed sixth at the NCAA Indoor meet.

Wildman registered a mark of 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98) meters for a 12th-place finish Saturday in the high jump.

Earlier in the NCAA Championships, senior Chris Baer of Shiner, Texas (Shiner), placed third in the men’s javelin. Baer, who earned All-America honors for the second straight year, registered a throw of 201 feet even (61.27 meters). He placed fifth in the javelin in the 2008 NCAA meet at Oshkosh, Wis. Last year, Baer, also a standout running back for the Tigers football team, became one of Trinity’s first Division III men’s track and field All-Americans, along with Zach Brush (800 meters).

Tiger first-year student-athlete Justin Campbell of Victoria, Texas (Memorial), also became an All-American with a third-place finish in the men’s discus. Campbell, an offensive lineman on the Tigers football team, had a throw of 164 feet, 7 inches (50.18 meters).

Senior Emily Loeffler of San Antonio (O’Connor) is now a four-time All-American, after her performance over the weekend. Loeffler placed eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, clocking in at 10 minutes, 45.45 seconds.

Loeffler previously was a three-time All-American in outdoor and indoor track, and cross country. Loeffler placed fifth in this year’s NCAA Indoor 5,000 meters, and was third in the 2008 Outdoor steeplechase. She was 17th in last fall’s NCAA Cross Country Championships.