From Washington University Athletics
The Washington University in St. Louis women's track & field team was the top-ranked team all season and culminated the year with the first NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship in program history and 22nd overall in school history, while the men added a ninth place finish as the Bears were one of just two programs to have both the women and men place in the top-10 at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The WashU women totaled 56 points as Ithaca College placed second (37) and Carthage College placed third (33). The WashU men placed ninth with 22 points while University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (47) took home the title.
Earning individual national titles were seniors Deko Ricketts and Rebecca Ridderhoff. Ricketts captured the 800m title for the men, gaining 10 points in a photo finish while Ridderhoff ran to a sub-minute time in the 400m hurdles. Ridderhoff's first place finish and 10 points helped push the Bears ahead of Ithaca.
Listed below in sequence of events is how the Bears fared during their events, as the group totaled 13 All-American finishes on the day and 14 over the weekend including junior David O'Gara's All-American finish on Thursday in the 10,000m run.
3,000m Steeplechase
Junior Alison Lindsay and sophomore Abby Martin kicked things off for the Bears on Saturday morning with Lindsay earning a runner-up finish in the 3,000m steeplechase with a personal-best time of 10:28.52. Lindsay scored the first points for the women, earning eight points for the runner-up status. She also earned All-American honors during last year's outdoor championships.
1,500m
Freshman Nick Matteucci earned All-American honors in his first attempt at the outdoor championships. He placed fifth overall with a time of 3:54.33.
100m Hurdles
Senior Daisy Ogede and Ridderhoff ran to All-American finishes with fifth and sixth place honors. Ogede ran to a 14.17 finish while Ridderhoff ran to a personal-best 14.28 time.
100m Dash
In a little more than 30 minutes between events, Ogede followed her 100m hurdles All-American finish with third place in the 100m dash, crossing the finish line in 11.73 to earn her second All-American honor of the day. Her time nearly eclipsed her own school record of 11.71 set during the 2015 outdoor championships.
800m
Junior Annalise Wagner and senior Ashley Knudson kept the points rolling in for the Bears women with All-American finishes, placing fourth and fifth respectively. Wagner concluded the race in 2:09.60, while Knudson was right behind her with a time of 2:09.84. Wagner ran to a season-best time and Knudson's time nearly duplicated her career-best mark from Friday's prelims.
On the men's side, Ricketts worked his way to a champion finish on a tightly contested finish. He held off the runner-up finish of Carleton's Donson Cook-Gallardo with a time of 1:51.30, just a split second ahead in a photo finish.
400m Hurdles
Ridderhoff ran to the National Title in the 400m hurdles with a sub-minute time of 59.43, placing more than half of a second in front of the runner-up. Senior Kelli Hancockplaced third with a time of 1:00.15. Ridderhoff and Hancock combined for 16 points to supplant Ithaca for the team lead.
200m Dash
Ogede added five points to the team total with a fourth place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 24.17. She earned her third All-American honor of the day, totaling six in her career at WashU.
Pole Vault
Senior Everett Kleven placed fourth for an All-American finish as he cleared a height of 5.15m. In his lone season competing for the Bears, Kleven earned All-American honors during both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
4x400m Relay
The group of Ridderhoff, Hancock, Wagner and Knudson placed fourth in the 4x400m-relay to cap off its point total at 56 points. The quartet of All-Americans ran to a finish of 3:44.03.