NCAA Division III Indoor Championships Results

Naperville, Ill. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's track & field squad captured its 16th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Indoor Championship Saturday afternoon in the Al B. Carius Track at North Central College. The 16 indoor crowns are the most in NCAA Division III history. The Eagles finished with 74 team points Saturday, winning their first indoor title since 2009. UW-L has now captured nine of the last 13 indoor championships.

UW-L has won a nation-leading 27 NCAA Division III Championships in school history (16 indoor, 11 outdoor). The 11 outdoor crowns are also the best in Division III history.

UW-Oshkosh placed second Saturday with 40 points while UW-Eau Claire was third with 37 and UW-Whitewater fourth with 35. Bates (23 points), Monmouth, Ill. (19), Ohio Wesleyan (18), North Central, Ill. (17), Central, Iowa (15) and Haverford (15) rounded-out the top-10. North Central had won the last three national indoor titles. A total of 63 teams scored points at this year's championships.

Along with winning the team title, UW-L had a pair of individual national champions Saturday as Isaac Vazquez captured his first career indoor title in the triple jump (51-3 1/2) and Aric Hoeschen won his first national crown in the 400-meter dash (48.20). Vazquez also has two outdoor national titles (long jump in 2012; triple jump in 2011).

Vazquez became the first UW-L student-athlete to win the indoor triple jump national title since Ajamu Olaniyan (formerly Dean Cash) in 1991. Hoeschen is the first since Nate Olson in 2005 to capture the indoor 400-meter dash crown.

Vazquez set a school record in winning the triple jump Saturday, breaking the mark of 51-1 3/4 by Bill Schroeder set in 1993. Vazquez also set a Al B. Carius Track facility record. It was his second All-America honor of this year's championships after placing second in the long jump (24-1 1/2) Friday. He ends his career with seven NCAA Division III Indoor All-America honors, including four in the triple jump. Along with this year's national title, he was eighth in 2010 and third in 2011 and 2012. Vazquez earned three career long jump honors, placing second this season and third in 2011 and 2012.

Vazquez also has six career outdoor All-America honors. He won the national title in the triple jump in 2011 while placing third in the 2012 and sixth in 2010. Vazquez captured the outdoor long jump crown in 2012 while finishing fifth in 2011 and seventh in 2010.

Hoeschen captured the 400-meter dash title Saturday after placing third last season. He set a facility record in winning Saturday's race.

Hoeschen earned his second All-America honor of the meet in the final event Saturday as a member of the Eagles' third-place 4x400-meter relay (3:17.11). He joined Tyson Young, Christian Wendland and Nick Tehan on the relay. Hoeschen ends his indoor career with six All-America honors. Along with the national title this year in the 400-meter dash and third-place finish last season, he was on UW-L's national champion 4x400-meter relay and fourth-place distance medley relay in 2011. Hoeschen was also on a second-place 4x400-meter relay in 2010.

He has career outdoor NCAA III All-America recognitions, including three in the 400-meter dash (third in 2012, sixth in 2010 and seventh in 2011). Hoeschen has been a member of three All-America 4x400-meter relays outdoors (fourth in 2010 and 2011, seventh in 2012).

Young and Tehan each earned their second career indoor All-America award as part of Saturday's 4x400-meter relay while Wendland picked up his first honor. Young was on the Eagles' national champion 4x400-meter relay in 2011 while Tehan was a member of the sixth-place distance medley relay last season.

The Eagles' Sean Royer placed third (1:50.94) in the 800-meter run Saturday to earn All-America honors. His time of 1:50.94 broke his own school record of 1:52.58 set in Friday's preliminaries. Doug Connor held the previous record of 1:53.09 set in 2003. It is Royer's second career All-America honor after being a member of the Eagles' sixth-place distance medley relay in 2012.

UW-L's Alex Koenen and David Sikorski earned All-America awards in the 60-meter dash Saturday with Koenen placing fifth (6.90) and Sikorski eighth (7.03). It is the first career All-America award for both.

Jerry Kerska earned All-America honors Saturday with a seventh-place finish (4:12.08) in the mile run, his first career All-America award. UW-L's Tyler Heinz was 10th (4:24.75) in the mile run Saturday.

In other action Saturday, David Stilin was 12th (14:58.11) in the 5,000-meter run. He was a member of UW-L's national champion distance medley relay (9:59.58) Friday. Stilin was third in the 5,000-meter run in 2011.

UW-L opens its 2013 outdoor season hosting the Ashton May Heptathlon Friday, April 5.