Columbus, Ohio -- March 12, 2011 -- Kevin Coyle of Springfield College surprised by finishing better than expected for the second straight day at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships at Capital University. After winning a national title in the long jump yesterday, the junior finished fourth in the triple jump today with a leap of 48-feet, 5 1/2-inches. As a result, Coyle finishes the NCAA's as a two-time All-America. Including his eighth-place finish in the long jump in 2010, he is now a three-time NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field All-America.
A junior from Bradford, N.H., Coyle was seeded ninth in today's triple jump. Kevin slipped into the finals by placing ninth following the first two flights of competition in the triple jump with a leap of 46-feet, 7 1/4-inches. Only the top nine qualified for the finals.
But Coyle unleashed his best jump in his final attempt during the final competition. He finished up with a leap of 48-feet, 5 1/2-inches or 14.77 meters. That allowed him to improve three spots in the standings. Of the nine competitors left at that point, Kevin's leap was the best of anyone's final attempt.
Yesterday, Coyle won the long jump from his fifth-seeded position with a leap of 23-feet, 10 1/4-inches or 7.27 meters. He became the third Springfield College athlete to win a national title at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in the last three years. Steve Headley won the 55-meter dash in 2009, while Nikki Hay won the triple jump in 2010. Coyle was the first SC men's athlete to win an indoor title in a jumping event.
Coyle scored 10 points for winning the long jump, and added another five points by finishing fourth in today's triple jump. Springfield College thus finished with 15 total points as a team. With two events to go, SC was tied for eighth place in the team standings with those 15 points.
Ken Klatka, just inducted into the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame in October, 2011, enters his 37th season as head coach of the men’s track and field program in 2012-2013. He ranks among the nation’s most successful coaches, with an overall record of 442 wins, 144 losses, and two ties for an impressive .753 winning percentage. Under his direction, Kevin Coyle '12 won the 2011 Division III Indoor Long Jump National Championship.
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