GENEVA, Ohio – Keaton Wood of Linfield University won two individual events on his way to claiming second place overall in the grueling men's decathlon at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships. The meet, which brought together more than 850 student-athletes, was co-hosted at the Spire Institute by the University of Mount Union and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
 
Wood flirted with winning the national title right down to the final event of the 10-event competition, battling neck-and-neck with eventual winner Marcus Weaver of UW-Eau Claire. Wood's second-place showing earned him All-America honors for the second time this spring, following up on his runner-up finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA III Indoor Championships in March. Wood won the 400-meter dash on Thursday and followed that effort with an individual victory in the 110-meter hurdles on Friday.
 
Weaver captured the national decathlon crown with a point total of 7,486. With a top-three result in the 1,500 run, the day's final event, Wood moved from third place into second place with 7,216 points, surpassing Abram Schroedl of UW-Eau Claire. Schroedl finished with 7,154 points.
 
Wood began Friday's competition by posting the fastest mark in the 110 high hurdles. His career-best time of 14.59 topped the field of 20 decathlon competitors and edged runner-up Jackson Anderson of Williams by .04 of a second.
 
In the discus, Wood's mark of 114 feet, 9 inches (34.98 meters) was well short his personal best of 130-3 (39.70m), placing him 11th.
 
In the pole vault, Wood cleared his first try at 12-9½ (3.90m) but couldn't advance further, failing on three attempts at 13-5¼ (4.10m). He finished 10th overall in that event.
 
Wood's opening toss in the javelin was his best. His mark of 175-0 (53.36m) earned him third place in the event.
 
In other events, Jerrica Pachl placed 11th in the women's high jump in her first NCAA Outdoor Championships, leaping 5 feet, 5¼ inches (1.66 meters). She cleared her first two heights with a single jump, but three couldn't clear the bar on three attempts at 5-6¾ (1.69m).
 
Kimmy McPherson of MIT emerged as the women's high jump national champion, breaking a three-way tie for first place by clearing the winning height of 5-7¾ with a single attempt.
 
On Thursday, Linfield senior Matt Metcalf finished 15th overall in the men's javelin.
 
Linfield's national-championship delegation will return to Oregon Friday night. Wood, a graduate student, and Metcalf, a senior, will participate in Sunday's spring commencement ceremony.