Pirate Men Conclude Nationals in 13th Place

Whitworth Track and Field at NCAA Division III Championships May 27-29 at Baldwin-Wallace (OH) Meet Website/Results

Emmanuel Bofa

Cody Stelzer

BEREA, Ohio -- Whitworth University's Emmanuel Bofa just missed his third straight national championship in the 800 meter run and Cody Stelzer took fourth place in the high jump on the final day of the 2010 NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships Saturday at Baldwin-Wallace College.

The Pirate men finished in 13th place with 17 points.

Bofa (Sr., Puyallup, Wash.) finished second in the 800 with a time of 1:50.43. Attempting to break 1:48 for the first time in his career, Bofa took to the lead from the start and came around the 400 meter mark in 51 seconds while holding a ten-meter lead. He continued to lead until the final 50 meters, when Max Hanson of Gustavus Adolphus went by to win in 1:49.50. Bofa had hoped to win the event for the third straight year. Over the course of his four seasons at the outdoor championships, Bofa never finished lower than fourth place in the 800 meters.

Stelzer (Sr., The Dalles, Ore.) survived a official's snafu to close out a brilliant career in the high jump with a fourth place finish on Saturday, clearing 6'-10.25" (2.09 meters). After the field finished clearing the bar at 2.03 meters, an official inadvertently set the next height at 2.09 instead of 2.06. While Stelzer cleared 2.09 on his second attempt, several other athletes did not make the height before the error was revealed. After discussion, the height was moved back down to 2.06 and the other athletes were allowed to rejump. By the time Stelzer jumped again at 2.12, more than an hour and 15 minutes had passed since he had cleared 2.09 the first time. Yet his mark at this meet still matched a season-high. Over the course of his career, Stelzer competed in eight high jumps at NCAA championship meets (both indoor and outdoor), earning eight All-American finishes. He was the 2008 outdoor and 2009 indoor national champion. Tyler Hannam of Monmouth College cleared the 2.12 mark to win with a height of 6-11.5.

Carter Comito (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), competing in his first national meet, just missed making the finals of the men's discus throw. He finished 10th with a mark of 161'-4" (49.19 meters) - fifth in the first flight. The final competitor to make finals threw 161-7 in the second flight.

Bofa and Stelzer totaled 13 points on Saturday, giving Whitworth 17 for the meet. The Pirates finished in 13th place. North Central College won the championship with a total of 53 points.

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