Minnesotans to Vie for NCAA Division III Titles

The North Star State will send a passel of title contenders across the border to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at UW - Oshkosh. The meet begins tomorrow and runs until Saturday.

The top contenders with Minnesota pedigree include:

Will Leer (Pomona-Pitzer Colleges) -- Leer, the two-time Division III champion in the indoor mile, hopes to earn his first outdoor crown in Oshkosh. The Minnetonka High School grad is seeded #1 by more than five seconds the 1500 meters at 3:41.98 and is ranked #3 in the 5000 meters at 14:23.28. Last year, Leer was the runner-up in the 1500 and was 8th in the 800 for his southern California school.

Eric Buss (St. John's) -- The MIAC outdoor champ is the #1 seed in the triple jump at 48-11. The Coon Rapids native won the MIAC indoor title as well, but didn't make the cut for indoor nationals. Eight jumpers are within a foot of Buss' mark.

Chris Erichsen (St. John's) -- Named the MIAC Outdoor Championships "Men's Outstanding Track Athlete" for his commanding wins at 1500 and 5000 meters there, Erichsen is seeded #2 in the 3000m Steeplechase with a 9:03.84. Erichsen is also seeded #7 at 5000m. Alex Ramon of Occidental College is seeded #1 in the 'chase at 9:01.23.

Lisa Brown (Gustavus Adolphus College) -- Brown, seeded #5 this year at 149-9 -- is the defending champion in the javelin. The clutch performer won the title last year with a toss of 154-6 on her last throw of the competition. Brandi McNeil of Illinois' Wheaton College leads the nation at 161-11.

Jill Crandall (UW - River Falls) -- The Roseville High School graduate enters the meet as the #1 seed in the heptathlon. Crandall sports a 4936 point mark notched at St. John's in April. She won the WIAC meet with 4444 points. Amy Reed of Messiah College is ranked #2 with 4860 points.

Heather Schuster (Concordia-Moorhead) -- Named the MIAC's "Women’s Outstanding Track Athlete" after she won the 800/1500 meter double at the conference meet, Schuster enters the NCAA Championship ranked #3 in the 800 at 2:09.32. Wartburg's Heidi Porter has clocked 2:08.41; UW - Platteville's Marcia Taddy has run 2:09.18.

Selina Dehn (St. Thomas) -- Dehn was named the MIAC's "Women's Outstanding Field Athlete" for winning the triple jump, finishing second in the long jump, and placing 6th in the high jump at the conference meet. She was also the winner of the "Women's Outstanding Performance" award for her 39-3 3/4 meet record-breaking triple jump mark that seeds her #3 at NCAAs. Caroline Doctor of Williams College leads qualifiers at 40-4 3/4.

Ranked qualifiers lists can be found HERE.

Heat sheets can be found HERE.

Results are here for MEN and WOMEN.