Atwater and Ortiz Cap Successful Division III National Championships
May 28, 2016
Alex Link and Tanasha Atwater became the third male/female pair in UD history to earn All-American recognition in the same DIII Championships.
COMPLETE RESULTS
Day 1 Recap
Day 2 Recap
WAVERLY, Iowa – On the third and final day of the Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, Fabiola Ortiz placed 12th in the 3000m Steeplechase and Tanasha Atwater finished 18th in the hammer throw.
The pair capped a championship weekend that saw a pair of All-American throwers in Alex Link in the men’s discus and Atwater in the shot put. It was the third time in UD history that both a male and female earned All-American recognition and first since 2010.
Link was UD’s lone scorer with two points after seventh-place in the discus as the Spartan men finished 72nd. UW-La Crosse won with 41 points.
On the women’s side, Atwater’s third-place finish in the shot put gave UD a 44th-place team showing with six points. Illinois Wesleyan won with 42 points, one point higher than runner-up Baldwin Wallace (Ohio).
Ortiz, running her fourth 3000m steeplechase event in the last two weeks, qualified for the finals on Thursday and ended up 12th overall in a time of 11:06.55.
Atwater placed 18th in the hammer with a toss of 49.55m/162-7 on her third and final throw.
Ortiz, Atwater, Link, and Blaze Murfin will all return next season with Ortiz being the only rising senior of the group.
Full UD National Championship Results
Women
Tanasha Atwater – 3rd Shot Put (47-7/14.50m)
18th Hammer Throw (162-7/49.55m)
Fabiola Ortiz – 12th 3000m Steeplechase (11:06.55)
Men
Alex Link – 7th Discus (170-10/52.06m)
Blaze Murfin – 18th Discus (146-0/44.50m)
