Harter, Kirwa Named All-Americans on Final Day of Outdoor Nationals
MARION, Ind. -- On the final day of action on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan, two Eagles were honored as All-Americans after impressive performances in the pole vault and 5K, helping the men's team finish 18th overall with a team score of 18.5 points.
Chris Harter, a freshman on the men's team, jumped 4.85m and landed himself a spot on the podium in fifth place. He entered the event as the third ranked NAIA vaulter in the nation and had a solid outing in his debut performance at the national level.
Evans Kirwa notched his second All-American status at this year's outdoor nationals, his fourth All-American title this year, as he finished third overall in the 5K in a school record time of 14:41.
Nick Gehlsen and Alex Frazier ran in the 26-mile marathon earlier this morning, as Gehlsen took 19th overall and Frazier finished in the top 30. Gehlsen led for the majority of the race by a good margin, but couldn't hold onto the lead in the last four miles and ended up 19th overall.
Several Embry-Riddle student-athletes were also recognized for their performances in the classroom as the Daktronics-NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete listing was also released on Saturday. Among the 548 student-athletes recognized by the NAIA were ERAU's Albin Abraham, Nick Gehlsen, Russell Snyder, Henry Melius and Monte Willet.
To be eligible for scholar athlete honors, student-athletes are nominated by their head coach and must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have achieved junior academic status to qualify.