Myrtle Beach, SC --- WPI's Gavin Fleck (Bend, OR), Elizabeth Matticoli (South Brunswick, NJ) and David Reynolds (Andover, NH) competed Thursday in the first day of the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The trio all earned second team All-America honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for placing in the top 16 in their respective events.
 
Fleck narrowly missed his second straight top eight All-America performance in the pole vault.  The sophomore, who finished seventh in the Indoor Championships in March, placed ninth Thursday.  Fleck was perfect in clearing the first three heights of 4.54m (14-10.75), 4.69m (15-4.50) and 4.84m (15-10.50) and was in position to repeat his seventh place showing from Indoors despite not clearing 4.94m (16-2.50) but was bumped to ninth after Coast Guard's Joshua Banks and Wisconsin-La Crosse's Andrew Tumminaro cleared the height on their third and final attempts.   Catholic's Christian Di Nicolantonio captured the event with a height of 5.19m (17.0.25).
 
Matticoli improved her distance in all three of her throws in the javelin.  The senior began the day with a throw of 35.32m (115-10), followed with a toss of 37.80, (124-0) and then uncorked her best heave of the day with a distance of 40.39m (132.6) in her final attempt.  The performance earned her 13th place, six spots better then her 19th seed.  Rebecca Heuler of Brockport (NY) won the title with a throw of 47.35m (155-4) on her final try.
 
Reynolds concluded his standout career with the Crimson and Gray by registering a 13th place finish in the 10k.  Battling heat and humidity on Thursday night, Reynolds sat in fourth place for a majority of the first 3000 meters before briefly falling out of the 16 at 6,000 meters.  The graduate student finished strong over the final 4,000 meters, including improve two spots over the last 800 meters, posting a time of 31:26.18.  His 13th place showing was impressive as he entered the 22-person field seeded 21st.  Simpson's Spencer Moon was victorious in a time of 30:41.91.
                                                    
Grace Hadley (North Reading, MA) was schedule to compete in the prelims of the 1,500 meters on Thursday evening but was forced to apply for a medical scratch due to food poisoning.  The Indoor national champion in the mile was granted a medical waiver to be able to compete in the 5,000 meters on Saturday if she's ready to race at that time.  Hadley was an All-America last year in the event and is seeded second this season.   
 
Results