GENEVA, Ohio – Augustana's Marckus Simmons (Downers Grove North HS, Westmont, Ill.) justified his top seed in the hammer throw Saturday at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio. The senior posted the top four marks of the competition, including a heave of 202' 1" that earned him the national title. In addition, senior Isaac Smith (Marion HS, Marion, Iowa) earned All-America recognition for the ninth and tenth times of his career, finishing sixth in both the individual 400 meters and in the 4x400 relay. The performances of Simmons, Smith and the rest of the 1600 relay, along with junior Ethan Ehlers' (St. Joseph HS, Kenosha, Wis.) fourth-place effort in Friday's shot put, earned Coach Paul Olsen's Vikings 10th place in the team standings with 21 points.
 
Simmons fouled on two of his six attempts, but in the other four, unleashed throws of 190' 10", 202' 1", 192' and 196' 5". After breaking the school record three times this season, his winning mark Saturday is second-best in school history. Cortland State's Mitchel Crouch threw 190' 6" to finish second. Augustana sophomore Cody Wheeler (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) finished 15th with a mark of 170' 2".
 
Simmons' national championship is the first for a Viking individual in track & field since Ted McMillan claimed titles in the high jump and 400 hurdles in 2007. Smith, David Devore, Keith Cline and David Voland captured Augustana's last national title in the 4x400 relay at the 2015 indoor championships.
 
Smith wrapped up a tremendous career Saturday by winning his ninth and tenth All-American certificates. He ran a :47.69 in the 400—just two one-hundredths of a second off his career best—to claim sixth place. Ross Denman of Wisconsin-La Crosse was the winner in :46.89.
 
In the 4x400 relay, Smith ran a :47.56 anchor split, overtaking Denman to earn the Vikings a sixth-place finish in 3:13.83. Juniors Josh Yamamoto (Fremd HS, Palatine, Ill.), Jeffrey Swanson (Winnebago HS, Winnebago, Ill.) and Kyle Hucker (Wauconda HS, Wauconda, Ill.) handled the first three legs for Olsen's bunch. Mount Union won the event in a SPIRE Institute stadium record of 3:10.41.
 
Also competing for Augustana Saturday was senior Tanner Osing (Havana HS, Havana, Ill.) in the 5000. Osing ran a 15:19.78 to finish 18th.
 
The 10th-place finish was the Vikings' 16th top-ten outdoor performance under Olsen, including four in the last six years. UW-La Crosse nipped UW-Whitewater 47 points to 45 for this year's team title. Mount Union (29) was third, followed by Benedictine (28), Cortland State (24) and UW-Eau Claire (24). George Fox and Rowan tied for seventh with 23 points each and Washington University was ninth with 22 points, one more than Augustana.