CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 25, 2018) – Colorado State University-Pueblo sophomore Thomas Staines (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was crowned NCAA Division II Outdoor National Champion in the 800m run Saturday to claim his second national championship after winning at the indoor championships. Staines ran to a championship meet record at the 2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Staines posted a time of 1:46.56 to establish a new meet record and tie his personal and school record. He was third through 400m then made his move with about 200m left to win the race by almost a second.
Staines grabbed the fifth National Championship in program history and established his second championships record, as his indoor time of 1:47.23 was also a record.
Teammate Devundrick Walker (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) nearly broke his personal best time and finished seventh in the 800m with a mark of 1:48.92 to earn his second NCAA All-American honor. He was sixth in the same event in 2015 as a freshman.
The ThunderWolves collected 12 points in the race and on the day to move to 19 for the championships to finish alone in 12th. The Pack were second among Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools, as Colorado School of Mines tied for 10th with 23 points. The finish for the ThunderWolves marks the third best finish at the outdoor championships in program history behind the 1967 (7th) and 1980 (10th) teams.
Senior Derrick Williams (Columbia Falls, Mont.) closed his collegiate track and field career with another All-American honor, the 13th in his historic career. He gathered Second Team All-American recognition in a stacked 5000m race when he finished 12th with a time of 14:36.42. Williams was named All-American in the 3000m steeplechase when he finished fourth Friday.
In all, the ThunderWolves totaled seven All-American honors between the men and the women at the outdoor championships. Williams’ finish in the steeplechase and a seventh-place finish by sophomore Marcelo Laguera (Chihuahua, Mexico) in the 10,000m race Thursday totaled seven points. The women had their first NCAA All-American since 2011 when Angelique Urenda (Pueblo, Colo.) tied for eighth in the pole vault. The half point gathered put CSU-Pueblo 70th for the Championships. Senior Miriam Roberts (Boulder, Colo.) finished 10th in the women’s steeplechase Friday to earn Second Team All-American honors.
