Eight Stags, One Relay Earn NCAA Division III Track and Field Invitations

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Eight members of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's track and field team earned individual qualifications to the NCAA Division III Championships, along with the 4x400 relay team that is seeded fifth in the country, the NCAA announced on Friday evening.

The 4x400 relay of Massimo Bertini, Nick Teresi, Christian Campbell and Jamie Cockburn is the highest seed among the CMS entrants, after running a 3:12.34 at the APU Last Chance Invitational, which ranked second in the country at the time. Dubuque is now the top seed at 3:10.85, which it ran on the final day of qualifications at the Augustana College Twilight meet. 

Cockburn also received some good news with an invitation to the 200 meters as an individual. He was just five-hundredths of a second out of 20th place (the top 20 receive invites), but earned a chance to compete when a pair of runners ahead of him opted out to compete in other events, giving him the last spot in the field. Cockburn, who has been coming on strong late in the year after missing over a month of training in February and March, was also just four-hundredths of a second from qualifying in the 400, and the 4x100 relay team he is a part of was just one-hundredth of a second from qualifying. 

Also earning individual qualifications for CMS are Kai Dettman (800 meters), Daniel Sealand (1500 meters), Stevie Steinberg and Henry Pick (5000 meters), Adam Wilkinson (steeplechase), and Truman Knowles and Maxwell Knowles (javelin).

Wilkinson and Sealand had the highest ranking during the season among the CMS individuals, both ranking at No. 11 nationally after setting CMS program records in their events. Sealand broke the 1500 record with a 3:46.99 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, breaking the mark held by his older brother, Joshua Sealand. Wilkinson, meanwhile, set a new program standard int he steeplechase with a 9:04.65 at the SCIAC Championships in April, finishing in second place to earn All-SCIAC honors. Sealand is seeded ninth among those who entered the competition, while Wilkinson is 11th and Dettman 12th. 

Steinberg and Pick are both running in the 5000 to try to earn All-America honors for the second time this season, after capturing it during cross country season in the fall. Pick, in fact, finished third at nationals in the fall with the fastest time ever run in an 8K race, and earned his NCAA Track and Field qualification with a strong effort at the Redlands Last Chance meet earlier this week. Steinberg, meanwhile, set CMS program records in both the 5000 and the 10000 during spring track and field season after coming in 22nd place to earn All-America honors in cross country. 

The javelin will see both Knowles brothers compete, after both won SCIAC Championships with almost identical 199'0" throws in 2019 and 2022. Maxwell Knowles threw 199 feet in 2019 to win the SCIAC title and earn a nationals qualification, while Truman Knowles threw 199 feet this year to take first place, with Maxwell second and fellow Stag Jason Bowman in third. 

The NCAA Championships will take place next Thursday-Saturday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Most events will see prelims on Thursday and finals on Saturday, with the 5000 and pole vault finals taking place on Saturday as well.  The javelin, meanwhile will have its finals on Thursday.