ROCHESTER, N.Y. – McMurry University sophomore
DonTre Sinegal (Benbrook, Texas) added his name to an elite list during day one of the 2023 NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships Thursday, May 25.
The sophomore became the third men's track athlete to earn All-American honors in the long jump, joining former standouts Gavan Bass (2009) and Hann Ollison (2008). He went over 23 feet in each of his last three attempts at St. John Fisher College's Polisseni Track and Field Complex. Sinegal's top mark occurred with a 23-foot, eight-inch soar that moved him into the first eight by three-quarters of an inch. Sinegal was on the cusp of a potential top-five ending, winding up less than four inches from that territory in a tightly-packed upper half of the 22-competitor field.
"They dealt with crosswinds," Knight said of the long jump. "DonTre got his first All-American award despite that and competed very well. He could have hit an even bigger attempt, too, but his hand rotated back, giving up a few feet."
"Justin clocked one of his best times in the 400 hurdles," he added. "He's learned so much with his rhythm in the hurdles, which has helped him improve in the flat 400. It shows the awesome job of adjusting he's done throughout the year. Craig ran well and was the only freshman in the 200. He learned a lot from this experience. Also, Allissa's first time at nationals was great for her and showed her improvements from a year ago."
Extending the men's run of having at least one All-American in three straight campaigns spotlighted the War Hawks' first day at the championships. Sophomore
Allissa Rodriguez (Bruceville-Eddy, Texas), representing the women's program, tossed the javelin 110 feet, eight inches for her top effort to place 21
st, while senior hurdler
Justin DeLeon (Abilene, Texas) battled to the line for a finals slot in the 400-meter hurdles. His time of 53.86 seconds was less than a second and a half out of the preliminary best eight and was the second-fastest clocking of his career. Freshman
Craig Collins (El Paso, Texas) went 22.01 in the 200-meter prelims, leaving him only less than seven-tenths from the finals qualification in a fleet field.
Sinegal returns to action Friday, May 26, in the preliminaries of the 110-meter-high hurdles at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
