By: Eric Zahn

Final Men's Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In a fitting end to University of Sioux Falls Track & Field's most successful indoor season, Scott Greenman led a quartet of USF pole vaulters to All-American finishes by winning the national title on the final day of the NCAA Championships. Greenman was joined by Jagger Gran and Jacob Zebedee as first-team All-American honorees and Chase Jensen collected second-team honors. On the back of their 19 team points from the men's pole vault and Teddy Frid's sixth-place finish in the heptathlon, USF Men's Track & Field finished with 22 points, tying them for a program-best ninth place.

In the Pole vault MSU’s  Mitchell Valli finished seventh with a top clear of 16-6.75 to earn his first career All-American honors. 

The final event of the day saw the team of Isaiah Pitchford, John Schuster, Tanner Ogren, and Morris Dennis finish fifth in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:12.68.  Their finish earned Minnesota State an additional four team points. 

MSU Moorhead’s Josh Young earned All-American honors in the men's mile. Young, competing at the track nationals for a first time, finished eighth with a personal-best time of 4:09.47, edging Logan Winfield of Colorado School of Mines at the line for eighth. During much of the race Young stayed back but made a surge on the final lap into eighth and narrowly missed out on seventh place by .02 seconds.

In addition to etching their names into the NCAA annals with two national champions in Greenman and Crandall, USF became the first NCAA Division II history to have both the men's and women's pole vault national champions at the same meet since the NCAA began sponsoring women's pole vault in 1999. The USF pole vault program now has four NCAA Indoor Track & Field pole vault titles between the two genders since USF joined NCAA Division II five years ago. The four titles are the most for any Division II program and are one shy of Texas A&M Kingsville's five including the outdoor season.  
 
Greenman and Zebedee passed at the opening height while Gran and Jensen cleared the bar on the first and second attempts, respectively. Greenman and Gran then each cleared 4.95 meters (16 feet-2.75 inches) on their first attempt and Zebedee cleared it on his second. Jensen solidified his top-12 standing with a third-attempt clearance of the second height and he was locked in to his second second-team All-American honor.
 
Greenman and Zebedee, who both earned bids to the NCAA Championships with automatic qualifying marks and they would advance with first-attempt clearances at 5.05 meters (16-5.75). Gran, who won the 2015 national title in the same building, needed three attempts to clear the third height, but he set himself up for another chance at the title.
 
With the bar moved to 5.15 meters (16-10.75) Gran cleared it on his first attempt and Greenman followed on his second try. Zebedee, who earned his first All-American honor at last season's indoor championships, cleared his fourth bar on the final attempt to earn a spot in the top five.
 
After Western State's Noah Zorsky opened competition with a clearance at 5.25 meters (17-2.75) on his first attempt, he pulled out of the competition with an injury, which put the pressure on USF's vaulters to further competition. Gran and Zebedee weren't able to clear the bar, but Greenman soared over it on his second attempt.
 
Despite clearing the 5.25-meter height, Greenman would have been relegated to second place if he couldn't clear the next bar because of his first-attempt miss at the previous height. However, Greenman seized the opportunity in front of him with Zorsky out of the competition yet still in the top position. After two failed attempts at 5.35 meters (17-6.50) Greenman grazed the bar on his final attempt, but it remained on the standards, earning his first national title and completing USF's sweep of the men's and women's pole vault competitions after Crandall won the women's vault on Friday.
 
Greenman joins Gran as a national title winner and is the fourth USF national champion after Crandall and Brigitte Gross (2014 indoor) won women's pole vault titles. Greenman and Gran both add their fifth All-American honor to their personal trophy case as each has qualified for seven national meets. Under the guidance of Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Reid Ehrisman, USF's pole vault program has now earned four national titles since joining the NCAA Division II ranks.