College NCAA DIII Results

The Memorial Day weekend brought a close to the exciting record-breaking seasons of three outstanding Principia College student-athletes with the conclusion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III (DIII) Championships.

Reaching the podium in track and field, Chris Puduski (US’16, C’21) closed out an extraordinary hammer-throw season by coming in sixth place at the NCAA 2020–2021 Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. His efforts also earned him the designation of All-American—an honor given to the top eight athletes in each event. The NCAA invites only the 17 best athletes in each event to the DIII championships, and Chris came into the competition with a second-place ranking.

Chris has been breaking College hammer-throw records since 2019, adding an eighth Principia College record at the NCAA Championships with a throw of 56.84 meters (186’6”). His personal-best throw came just about a week before at the Last Chance Meet on May 20 with a throw of 61.19 meters—that’s 200’9”! He was also the outdoor champion in the hammer throw this year for the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC).

Junior long jumper Wisdom Thomas competed in the NCAA DIII Championships on May 27 with a jump of 6.67 meters (21’10.75”), which moved him up one spot to 16th place. Earlier this spring, Wisdom broke the Principia College record with a jump of 7.21 meters (23’8”). He also was named SLIAC Indoor Field Event Athlete of the Year.

On the tennis court, senior Daniel Gomez played singles against Trinity University at the NCAA DIII Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Trinity won the match 7-5, 6-1. Daniel was one of only 32 singles qualifiers from across the country competing in the event. He is the first Principia men’s tennis player to qualify for nationals since two-time qualifier Ben Crandell (US’99, C’03) competed in the early 2000s. In May, SLIAC named Daniel its Player of the Year for the second time in his collegiate career.