SAN ANGELO, Texas ? Alaska Anchorage came away with a trio
of All-American honors on the final day of the 2009 NCAA Div. II Men's and
Women's Track and Field Championships for a total of five altogether, after
senior David Kiplagat (3,000m steeple), and sophomores Marko Cheseto (5,000m)
and Shaun Ward (4000m hurdles) finished in the top eight of their respective
races.
Overall the Seawolf men finished 14th as a team ? the
highest ever for the UAA track and field team ? with 19 points. The previous
best was 33rd set by the women's squad in 2006.
Finishing the highest on the podium on Saturday for UAA was
Cheseto who came away with a fourth place result in the 5,000m. Cheseto was
clocked at 14:25.82, two seconds faster than his preliminary time.
Cheseto garnered his second All-American honor, after
receiving his first for placing seventh in the 10,000m on Thursday. Cheseto
becomes the first Seawolf to post two All-American honors in the same
season.
Posting his second career All-American honor, Kiplagat
crossed the finish line in eighth place in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time
of 9:12.23 ? bypassing his prelim time of 9:16.56.
In his NCAA debut, Ward registered a sixth place finish with
a time of 52.87 for his first All-American accolade. Ward had previously
improved upon his own UAA and Great Northwest Athletic Conference record in the
event with a time of 52.45 in the prelims on Thursday.
Throughout the championships, the Seawolves snagged a
program-best five All-American awards. Prior to this season, UAA had a high of
three, accomplished last season.
Junior David Registe joins the trio with his second career
All-American honor after finishing runner-up in the long jump on Thursday.
