MEDFORD - Junior Mitchell Black of the Tufts Men's Track & Field Team is the undisputed king of the 800 meters at the NCAA Division III Championships after winning the Outdoor 800 title on Saturday at St. Lawrence University. Black added the victory to the NCAA Indoor 800 crown he won back in March.
Running in a nine-man final, Black took the lead at the top of the stretch and would not be denied, He finished with a 1:52.57 winning time to edge Wisconsin-LaCrosse senior Sean Royer (1:52.89) and Ramapo freshman Jeremy Hernandez (1:52.90).
> Watch interview with NCAA 800 meters champion Mitchell Black
The eight-time All-American was the #2 qualifier in the NCAA Outdoor 800 with a 1:49.83 time which won the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) title at MIT on May 9. Only Buffalo State junior Austin Becker ran a faster 800 during the Division III outdoor season (1:49.74).
Black was the top returnee to the NCAA Outdoor 800 field. He was the runner-up in the race last season with a 1:51.30 time. On Friday, he pulled away from the pack and won the first heat of the 800 meters with ease in a 1:50.60 time to advance to Saturday's final.
Black's victory is the 12th NCAA title won by a Jumbo team or individual since 2010. Tufts teams have won six NCAA championships in men's soccer (2014), men's lacrosse (2010 and 2014), field hockey (2012) and softball (2013 and 2014). In addition to Black's two wins, Julia Browne captured the 2010 Division III women's singles crown in tennis, Johann Schmidt won the 2012 and 2014 NCAA men's one-meter diving championship and Jana Hieber took the 2014 NCAA Women's Outdoor Track 400-meter hurdles title.
Competing at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on March 14, Black won the 2015 NCAA Division III indoor championship in the 800 meters with a 1:51.94 time. The NCAA title was the first by a member of the Tufts team since Fred Jones won the triple jump at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Black's was the first in a running event since David Patterson was first in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase at the 2001 NCAA Outdoor meet.
Black entered March's indoor meet ranked #1 in the 800 meters. He was the fourth runner in DIII indoor history to run a sub-1:50 in the event, timing 1:49.16 at Boston University's David Hemery Valentine Invite on February 13. The time was the fastest in Division III since Ben Scheetz of Amherst set the DIII record of 1:47.43 at the NEICAAA Championships in 2012.
Also part of Tufts' eighth-place 4x400-meter relay (3:18.80) at the '15 NCAA Indoor meet, Black was selected as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division III National Track Athlete of the Year for the indoor season.
Black was also third in the 800 indoors in 2014. He has three relay All-American honors indoors and another outdoor 800 All-American award from 2013 (seventh place). On Friday, he was announced as a Capital One Academic All-District 1 ® Men's Track & Field / Cross Country Team member.
This is the sixth straight national championship for which Black has qualified since starting his career for head coach Ethan Barron's Tufts program. His qualifying time for this year's race is the school record.
With the 10 points scored by Black, head coach Ethan Barron's Jumbos finished in a tie for 24th at the NCAA meet.
NCAA Div. 3 Outdoor 800 Meters Champion Mitchell Black at the top of the podium ...
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