Thousands of athletes from hundreds of universities gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, March 13-14 for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships. Each athlete arrived with the same goal: competing for a national title.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater sent three athletes to represent the Warhawks. Of the three who made the trip, sophomore sprinter Sam Vargas was the only competitor able to participate and finish on the national stage. Junior sprinter Caleb Beightol was dealing with a lingering injury and senior distance runner Dan Anderson battled illness, withdrawing midway through his race.
Vargas represented the university well, running a 6.72-second 60-meter dash in the preliminary round, securing All-American honors and advancing to the 60m finals.
“I’m honored to represent the team and the university,” Vargas said. “Every time I go out there to compete I know there are thousands of Warhawks cheering me on. Having the opportunity to be able to compete in big races early in my career helps me calm my nerves for big races. It’s a huge advantage for me and I’m very excited for the future.”
Vargas ran a 6.80 in the finals, finishing eighth.
His performance came during a season in which the team faced significant adversity, battling through injury and illness for the majority of the year. Sophomore Lincoln Begin suffered an injury at the Last Chance meet while several jumpers, including freshman high jumper Jer’Von Anderson, were sidelined at critical moments in the season.
With sprinters such as Beightol and Vargas, distance runners like Anderson and jumpers including junior Aiden Neduzak and Anderson, the Warhawks believe they have the potential to perform well as they transition into the outdoor season.
“The goal for our team is to always get a team title at nationals and we think we have the guys to do it,” Vargas said. “We have a bunch of guys that were close to national qualifying marks for indoors, and our coaches do a good job of getting us to peak for outdoor.”
Despite the setbacks, Vargas said the indoor season served as an important step forward for a young team that continues to develop.
“I would say this was a successful indoor season,” Vargas said. “We lost a bunch of big point scorers this year, and we had to go through the growing pains of a new team with a lot of young guys. We scored points at the fastest D3 nationals in history, even with some bad luck thrown our way.”
As the team transitions into the outdoor season, the Warhawks will look to regain their health and continue building on the experience gained during the indoor campaign.
