Virginia Beach, VA - Delhi Track and Field has a long and storied history, but only a few at the NCAA Division III level. However, that has not slowed the progress of the program and this season has been no different. Two years ago Joshua Jeffes became SUNY Delhi's first ever All-American at the NCAA level and this weekend he earned his second such honor. However, this time he has company as first year teammate Dayzin Legare earned his first All-American honor in the 200 meters.
On Friday evening, Jeffes was the first to race in the 400 meter prelim. He earned his spot in today's final running 48.07 seconds to advance. That ensured him an honor as first team All-American, a designation only earned by the top eight performers at the meet. A little later, Legare raced an NCAA Championship for the first time. He ran a strong second half of his race to place second in his preliminary heat in a time of 21.77 seconds. While the time was not good enough to advance him to the final in the event, it did place him 13th overall. That would be good enough to earn him the honor of second team All-American.
Coming back today, Jeffes had a lot to contend with as his heat ended up with five runners as an additional runner was added to the final after being impeded in the prelim. Jeffes got to a break line where runners can leave their lanes and now had four athletes in front of him. Then entering the turn to start the second lap a runner tripped and Jeffes had to slow significantly. However, he got back to speed quickly and with the strength of a very strong second lap, was able to climb back to third in his heat. Heat two of the final turned into a historic one as all four men in the heat were able to run faster than Jeffes heat so Jeffes finished in seventh with his time of 47.97 seconds. This was a terrific season for Jeffes as he lowered the Delhi school records in the 200, 300 and 400 meters as well as finishing with the fifth fastest 400 meter time in Division III history.
This concludes the indoor track and field season for 2023-2024. The track and field team will now take a short break and then focus on the outdoor season. The first outdoor meet will take place on March 30th at Hamilton College.
