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Waverly, IA - Messiah College senior Jared Schatz started strong, fell behind, and finished well in an All-American performance on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Division III Steeplechase Championship. Schatz went from 10th to sixth on the final lap for a time of 9:19.10, good for his first-ever All-American showing.

Schatz entered Saturday's final with the best time of all runners from Thursday's prelims (9:12.54), and he looked poised to challenge for a top finish in the early stages of the race. But with just over three laps to go the runners started to string out and Schatz started to fall behind. He was in the middle of the 14-runner pack until the end when he kicked hard to finish in sixth place.

Ryan Bugler of St. Johns (Minn.) finished as the National Champion with a mark of 9:11.98.

"It feels surreal, and I don't think it has sunk in yet," Schatz said, reflecting on the race. "Maybe it never will."

The performance for Schatz was especially satisfying considering he qualified for the same championship event last season but failed to finish in in the top eight for an All-American honor. This season his continued hard work yielded another school record in the 3000m event (9:00.83), and his prelim performance solidified his reputation as one of the best in the nation. He proved as much in the early stages of Saturday's final as he was consistently in the top three to five runners until the final three-plus laps.

"The start was slow, I think because not many of us are used to running in heat like we had today," Schatz said. "I think guys were getting tired late, and for me that came with about three laps to go. That's when I started to feel the heat and also the heavy legs from Thursday's prelims."

With just one lap to go Schatz was in 10th place and in threat of losing an All-American bid. That's when he pushed hard and forward, and he made up two places in the final 100 meters alone.

"We practice all season how we need to attack that bell lap," Schatz said. "I could tell I was behind a bit, and I just tried to give it all I had to get ahead.

"I'm just so excited and thankful to finish where I did. This is great."

Schatz came into the weekend as back-to-back MAC Champion in the Steeplechase. This year's time of 9:19.10 was more than 20 seconds better than his race from 2015.
 
In the Javelin on Saturday afternoon teammates Christian Pavlovich and Matthew Miller both competed in the Heat 1 prelims, and both fell just short of qualifying for the Championship finals. Inititally, Miller and Pavlovich finished 10th and 11th, respectively, but a late twist in the competition moved each thrower up one spot. Nevertheless, they were still short of the top eight placements needed for All-American honors.
 
Miller hit 196'3.25" to come within 1.75" of his own personal best throw, while Pavlovich's best throw was for 195'6.25."
 
Miller's best throw came on his third-and-final attempt, and hit bested his previous throw of 193'10.5." Cooper Budden of Whitworth edged him out for the final spot in the finals by more than sixteen inches.
 
Just behind Miller was Pavlovich. He hit 195'6.25" on his second attempt and could not get a better one on his last throw.

At the end of the prelims Miller and Pavlovich were 10th and 11th, but things got a little interesting after the finals were completed. A few coaches in attendance gathered to file a protest against three throwers for using illegal spikes in the prelims competition.

After almost two hours of review the protest was upheld, with each thrower's marks in the prelims ruled ineligible for consideration. Two of them remained in the top eight by way of their finals throws, but one thrower dropped all the way down to 16th. As such, Miller moved up to ninth place and Pavlovich moved to 10th.

To the question of total disqualification of the three student-athletes, the NCAA ruled the event clerk was at fault for not measuring the spikes prior to the prelims and, therefore, only threw out the first three throws.

Pavlovich entered with weekend with the nation's No. 11 ranking by way of a 198'9" mark reached at his season's MAC Championships. This was his second-straight qualification for the NCAA Outdoor Championships; he also finished 11th last season, even as his throw today was more than seven feet longer than last year.
 

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