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2000 Indoor Track Review

2000 INDOOR TRACK SEASON IN REVIEW

DAVID DEMPSEY (SHOT PUT) & DUSTIN WADDELL (POLE VAULT) EARN NCAA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICAN HONORS; VIKINGS FINISH SEASON NINTH IN NATIONAL POWER RANKINGS

Junior David Dempsey (Sterling Newman HS, Dixon, IL) and senior Dustin Waddell (Wheaton Warrenville South HS, Warrenville, IL) both claimed All-American honors at the NCAA Division III National Indoor Track & Field Championships. The meet was held at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois over the weekend of March 10-11.

Waddell earned All-American honors for the fifth time in his tremendous career with a fifth place finish in the pole vault. He cleared 15' 5" as Brad Parris of McMurry University won the event with a height of 16' 10". Waddell earned indoor and outdoor All-American honors in 1998 and again in 1999. He had one more year of indoor eligibility which he used this year to garner his fifth All-American certificate.  His best vault this past winter was a clearance of 15' 8 1/4" on February 5 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

Dempsey set a new Augustana school indoor record when he tossed the 16 pound shot put 54' 2 1/2" on February 5 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. He gained All-American honors at the national meet when he placed fifth with a toss of 52' 11". He is also the Vikings outdoor record holder with a toss of 54' 8 1/4" which he did a year ago.

Veteran head coach Paul Olsen had to be pleased with his Vikings overall performance during the 2000 indoor season. The Blue & Gold finished the campaign ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III Indoor Power Rankings with a total of 129.6 points. Wisconsin-LaCrosse was rated fifth at the end of the season with 156.0 points.

Augustana won the Knox Invitational and the PepsiCo Invitational and placed second in the Wisconsin-LaCrosse Invitational and the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Invitational. A total of three new school records were established during the year. Besides Dempsey in the shot put, Brian Miller (United Township HS, East Moline, IL) put his name into the record book with a leap of 23' 3" in the long jump. He did that on January 29 in Galesburg, Illinois. The other school record came in the distance medley when the team of Steve Wahls (Pontiac HS, Chenoa, IL), Tim Heisler (Prairie Ridge HS, Crystal Lake, IL), Larry Gant (United Township HS, East Moline, IL) and Craig Lawrence (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, IL) recorded a time of 10:19.2 on February 19 in Bloomington, Illinois.

NCAA DIVISION III FINAL INDOOR POWER RANKINGS