WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — In just his third competition of the season, high jumper Sam Beatty (junior, Mount Pleasant) completed his first All-American performance by finishing tied for eighth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Beatty became the sixth member of Central's men's track and field program to earn All-American honors at the meet, joining long jumper Brock Lewis (senior, Lathrop, Mo.) and the distance medley relay team of Adam Sylvia (junior, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS), Carter Tryon (senior, Winterset), Noah Jorgenson (sophomore, Sidney) and Will DeHaan (senior, DeWitt, Central DeWitt HS).

Central  tied for 31st in the team standings with 6.5 points. The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and Washington University – St. Louis (Mo.) shared the men's title with 35 points.

Beatty was perfect on his first three heights, clearing 6 feet, 6.75 inches without a miss. He missed all three attempts at 6-8 but based on his initial 3-for-3 run, he held the tiebreaker over six other jumpers alongside Bryce Elinger of Susquehanna University (Pa.). Ellinger and Beatty shared the one point awarded to eighth-place finishers.

"It was pretty awesome for him to get this opportunity," coach Brandon Sturman said. "It wasn't what we wanted height wise, but he did what he needed to get on the podium. For him to do it in just three weeks after basketball is exciting."

Teammate Drake Lewis (senior, Lathrop, Mo.) was one of those six other jumpers who cleared 6-6.75 but had previous misses which eliminated him from All-American contention.

"Definitely a little frustrating for him," Sturman said. "He's still motivated to go out on top as a senior in outdoors and get back on the podium."

Central's heptathletes had strong second days of competition. Brody Klein (sophomore, Rainier, Wash.) stayed at No. 11 with 4,684 points and Lucas Heitz (junior, Adel, ADM HS) surged to No. 16 with 4,476 points.

"Just to get two guys in the heptathlon was super exciting," Sturman said. "We were proud of how they competed and they were right around their PR's all weekend. They both have more opportunities to get back to the national meet. The experience was worth a lot this year."
           
The outdoor season starts for Central in three weeks at three different meets: The Dutch Multi-Event (March 31-April 1), Washington Distance Carnival (April 1) and Wartburg Select (April 2).