GRINNELL, Iowa --- Colby College's Dom Kone (Bucksport, Maine) took his first step toward a national title by qualifying for Saturday's championship final with a school-record time of 6.78 in the 60-meter dash on Friday night at the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships at Grinnell College.
Colby teammate Dylan Nisky (Hong Kong, China) ran in an 800 meter prelim, but did not qualify for Saturday's championship final.
Kone will race in the championship final at 5:35 p.m. (EST) and the meet is Webcast at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2012/03/10
Kone, running in the second heat of the night in the preliminary races, finished in second place in his heat behind Guilford College's Johnathan Smith. The 6.76 clocking by Smith broke the Charles Benson Bear Recreation and Athletic Center facility record. Kone also was below the old facility record time of 6.81, set by McMurry's Kenneth Turner earlier this season. Turner won the first heat with a time of 6.80. Kone's old school record of 6.80 was set last weekend in winning the ECAC Championships.
Kone appeared to get off to a slow start, but quickly got out in front along with Smith for a commanding 1-2 finish. Greenville's Bruce Gray was third in the second heat with a 6.89.
Kone ran in the 55 dash last year at the national meet and posted the fastest time of the year in the meet during a preliminary race. However, he pulled a hamstring in the championship final and finished eighth. By making Saturday's eight-man championship final, Kone already has secured All-American honors for a second straight year.
Nisky finished in a time of 1:56.19 after running a 1:52.93 earlier this season. He also got off to a slow start and had trouble making up any ground during the four laps. Nisky tried to make a move to the outside on the third lap, but fell back shortly after.
Mike Hutton of St. Thomas (Minn.) had the best 800 time of the night with a 1:51.39. Amherst College's Ben Scheetz was the defending champion in the race and led the second heat for the first two laps. However, he appeared to suffer an injury to his leg and missed out on qualifying for the final. Scheetz has a 1:48.03 time earlier this season.
Men 60 Meter Dash
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2 heats; advance winner plus next 6 best to final.
Stadium: # 6.81 2012 Kenneth Turner, McMurry
Name Year School Prelims H#
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Preliminaries
1 Johnathan Smith SO Guilford # 6.76Q 2
2 Kenneth Turner JR McMurry # 6.80Q 1
3 Dominique Kone JR Colby # 6.78q 2
4 Victor Banjo FR Wittenberg 6.86q 1
5 Bruce Gray FR Greenville 6.89q 2
6 Sean Bernstein JR Oneonta 6.90q 2
7 Phito Gondre FR UMass Dartmouth 6.91q 1
8 Davivorn Dowe SR Dubuque 6.92q 2
9 Chris Medina SR TCNJ 6.99 2
10 Alex Koenen FR Wis.-La Crosse 7.00 1
11 Ackeme Brown JR Ramapo 7.02 1
12 Nick Bee SO Wis.-Whitewater 7.03 1
-- Cody Jerabek JR St. Thomas (Minn.) DNS 2
Men 800 Meter Run
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2 Heats. Advance top 2 from each heat plus next best 4 to final
IN=Lanes 1-3; OUT=Lanes 4-6
Two-turn stagger
DIII Meet: $ 1:49.73 2002 Matt Groose, Wis.-Oshkosh
Stadium: # 1:55.27 2011 Derek Bischak, Rose-Hulman
Name Year School Prelims
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Preliminaries
1 Mike Hutton JR St. Thomas (Minn.) # 1:51.39Q
2 Jake Waterman JR Wabash # 1:52.61Q
3 Robert Willett JR Birmingham-Southern # 1:51.69Q
4 Jeff Marvel JR Tufts # 1:53.52Q
5 Steve Ambrosi SR Moravian # 1:53.22q
6 Luke Vance SO Wheaton (Ill.) # 1:53.38q
7 Tim Schoch SR Haverford # 1:53.62q
8 Ben Manning JR Southern Maine # 1:53.75q
9 Matt Melton SO Amherst # 1:54.79
10 Drew Clark SR Principia # 1:54.99
11 Dylan Nisky SO Colby 1:56.19
12 Ben Scheetz SR Amherst 1:56.41
13 Samuel Parker FR MIT 1:57.86
