NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Susquehanna University senior Adam Ressler (Robesonia/Conrad Weiser H.S.) became the 2000 NCAA Division III national champion in the javelin Saturday as he set a new school modern record on his second throw of 221-6 to win by nearly 14-feet at the outdoor championships at North Central College.
Despite not throwing the javelin for most of his first two collegiate seasons, Ressler became the seventh Crusader men's track and field national champion, but first since Mike Spangler won the 400-meter dash in 1988. He is the school's second javelin national champion in three years - with Janee Shaner winning the women's title in the event in 1998.
"I'm surprised. I figured I had a shot at winning it, but I'm really surprised at how far I threw," said Ressler. "My arm felt good. I rested it pretty much for the last week-and-a-half and really didn't do anything, and I always throw better when it's rested and feels good."
Coe College junior Bryce Berkompas was second in the competition with a throw of 207-7, while defending national champion and Springfield College senior Nick Guerrette was third at 204-2.
Susquehanna freshman Matt Deamer (Belleville/Indian Valley H.S.) was seeded second in Saturday's competition, but failed to make the top eight for finals as he finished 11th and fifth in his flight with a throw of 183-8. Deamer's qualifying throw of 211-6 was just three inches off the top throw coming in at 211-9 by Guerrette.
Also the recent MAC champion in the event, Ressler joined the list of Crusader men's track and field national champions and was also the 32nd All-American in 22 years under head coach Jim Taylor, who was also women's track and field head coach when Shaner won her championship. Former Lewisburg High School and Susquehanna standout Cris Delbaugh is in his ninth year as the Susquehanna throwing coach and has now coached two national champions and four All-Americans in the javelin. Delbaugh has had men's javelin throwers qualify for nationals in each of the last four seasons.
Five of Ressler's six throws during Saturday's competition were over 200-feet. His winning throw was the ninth-longest in modern history at Division III nationals.
"It hasn't hit me (being national champion) at all yet. I just felt like I had a good day and haven't really realized what's happened yet. I expect that will come later," said Ressler.
"Adam was just unreal today. His (winning) throw was huge. He was just ready to go from the start," said Delbaugh. "He showed all the maturity of a senior. He even let the defending champion (Guerrette) borrow his javelin to throw during the competition. It really helped that he has just pure athletic ability - in fact his throw today was not far off Olympic qualifying standards (230-0 provisional qualifying for Olympics)."
Ressler had only thrown the javelin in his senior year at Conrad Weiser prior to coming to Susquehanna. During his first two collegiate seasons, he was primarily a standout high jumper - qualifying for nationals in that event as he tied the school record at 6-9 in 1998. Because of his success in the jumping events, he threw the javelin just once as a sophomore - but was successful enough that the coaches allowed him to become a javelin regular in his junior year. He really blossomed in the javelin this season, also finishing 10th (198-2) as the top Division III thrower among his competition at the prestigious Penn Relays in April.
"There's no way I even thought I would come close to making the national championships in the javelin two years ago because I just considered it to be a fun thing that I did on the side," said Ressler.
"The thing that I'm so pleased about is that Adam's is a good person who has persevered and worked so hard. He's the kind of young man who keeps you coming back to coaching," said Taylor. "He came to the competition today like someone who had been here before and was mature and ready to handle the pressures of nationals. He's been here before and he competed like that today, which you're supposed to do as a senior."
"Being national champion is pretty good for a high jumper. He improved his PR by 45-feet over last year," said Delbaugh. "A big key this year was the fact that he played on the basketball team before joining us in the spring. In his junior year, he got cut in basketball - but he came back, busted his rear and was able to contribute as a senior. All that work really gave him some spring in his legs and made all the difference this year."
Ressler graduated with his bachelor's degree in information systems two weeks ago. He is the son of John and Jo Ressler of Robesonia.
