at NCAA Division III championship

Senior Trey Theobald (Archbold) won All-America honors during the first day of the NCAA Division III outdoor track & field championship meet, hosted by the North Coast Athletic Conference on Thursday at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Theobald was the 10th thrower in the first flight of the javelin and turned in a 198-11 on his first throw to move into second place.  On his second attempt, Theobald had a throw of 209-0 to take the lead, and after his third throw of 198-9, Theobald still held the lead by more than 6 feet.

The second flight saw 5 throwers pass Theobald in the standings.  Sixth-seeded Damitrius Hester of Rowan, last year's third-place finisher, led the field with a throw of 216-3, followed by third-seeded Jayden McKeen of Ursinus at 215-10.

In the finals, Theobald recorded a 201-9 on his first attempt as none of the remaining competitors improved their marks on the first time through the rotation.  The second time through appeared to be unfolding the same way until Hester wrapped up that round with a mark of 218-4 to increase the lead by more than 2 feet.

The next thrower, Scott Sloan of Wheaton (Mass.), opened the final round with a mark of 223-0, moving from ninth place at 197-1 to a lead of nearly 5 feet.

Theobald was the next to improve his position considerably, coming through with a throw of 216-2 to move from seventh place to third, but McKeen, who Theobald had just supplanted in third place, turned in a throw of 216-9 to reclaim the third spot.

Theobald finished in fourth place, winning All-America honors for the second consecutive year.  The mark of 216-2 broke the school record of 213-6 he set at last year's NCAA Division III championship meet.  Theobald entered the meet as the No. 13 seed with a mark of 207-11. 

Theobald's 216-2 is the best performance in the history of the North Coast Athletic Conference, according to research by head coach Kris Boey.

The 5 points scored by Theobald gave Ohio Wesleyan a tie for 42nd place in the final team standings.

Final Results