CMS Men's Track and Field Sends Five to NCAA Championships

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Colin Scanlon (400-meter hurdles), Hayden Beauchemin (steeplechase), Mason Ratkovich (1500 meters), Sarath Kakani (shot put) and Ellis DelVecchio (800 meters) earned invitations to the NCAA Division III Men's Track and Field Championships, the organization announced this evening.

Scanlon and Beauchemin are the highest seeds for CMS after placing ninth in the nation during the regular season. Scanlon's top time came when he clocked a 52.57 at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific to set a new Stag record. The top time this year was a 51.30 from Joel Smith of Bethel, while Scanlon's top time puts him in strong contention to make the finals (the top eight finishers in prelims). 

Beauchemin, meanwhile, became the first Stag to break the nine minute barrier in the steeplechase when he earned an 8:56.77 at the Occidental Invitational. He also moved into third place in CMS history in the 1500 meters at the Franson Last Chance Invitational at Azusa Pacific last week. Christian Patzka of Wisconsin-Whitewater has the top time this year of 8:38.55, while Beauchemin is a mere two-hundredths of a second behind the eighth seed, putting him right in the hunt for a spot in the finals. 

Ratkovich is seeded 13th in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:46.78, which actually came while running the mile at the Franson Last Chance Invitational and setting a CMS record with a 4:04.93 (the NCAA allowed for the 1500 time during the mile to count). That 3:46.78 would have set a 1500-meter record for the program, and puts him in position to be in the top 12 that would move on to the finals. Sam Llaneza of Lynchburg has the top time this year with a 3:43.69. 

Kakani made it into the NCAA Championships with his very last throw of the regular season, his sixth and final attempt at the Redlands Last Chance Meet on Thursday, when he set a new PR with a throw of 16.59 meters, which moved him up from below the cutline (top 22) to 18th nationally. Joseph White of Carthage has the top distance in the shot put this season of 18.98 meters, while the cutoff on paper for the finals would be at 17.18 meters, held by Eric Bottern of Babson. 

DelVecchio will also be seeded 18th in the 800 meters after clocking a season-best time of 1:50.26, which he ran at the Occidental Invitational two weeks ago after the SCIAC Championships (his previous PR of 1:50.80 at SCIACs would not have gotten him in). Bennett Booth-Genthe of Pomona-Pitzer has the top time this year with a 1:48.08, while the cutline for finals has Braedon Gilles of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 1:49.37. DelVecchio has nationals experience already, having finished second with the CMS 4x400 relay team last year. 

The NCAA Division III Championships will be held next Thursday-Saturday (May 23-25) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.