Copeland finishes 2nd at NCAAs
Published 8:52 pm Tuesday, May 31, 2011
St. Augustine’s junior Christopher Copeland (Lakeland) finished second in the nation in the high jump for the second straight outdoor season at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at Cal State Stanislaus.
Copeland cleared 7-feet-1 and came out in front of a three-way tie for second. Oliver Harsanyi of Western St. won the national title with a jump of 7-feet-2.25. Finishing second in the nation gives Copeland his sixth All-American award for his Falcon career.
Copeland won the national championship at the 2010 NCAA Div. II Indoor Championships. He won the indoor and outdoor high jump titles in CIAA competition for 2010-11.
In the classroom, Copeland, a sports management major, made the 2011 CIAA Commissioner’s All-Academic Team.
Virginia Tech junior Keith Ricks (King’s Fork) finished 11th in the 100-meter dash in 10.43 seconds at the NCAA East Regional Championships on Friday at Indiana University, qualifying for the NCAA National Championships with the effort.
The NCAA Div. I championships are set for June 8-11 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Norfolk State sophomore John James (Nansemond River) placed 30th of 47 high jumpers in the regional meet at IU.
James cleared 6-feet-9, coming up shy of making the cut for nationals. James won the MEAC high jump title earlier this month.