SUNY Oneonta junior J.D. Roth was selected today as the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region Male Indoor Field Athlete of the Year. Roth, along with three of his teammates, are headed to Lincoln, Neb. to compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend at the University of Nebraska.
Roth is the first field athlete in men's program history to earn the honor. Previously, Eric Theiss and Sean Bernstein were selected as the Track Athlete of the Year in the Region.
"I am proud of what JD has accomplished this season," said head coach Angelo Posillico. "He is always pushing himself to be the best that he can be. It helps that he has Patrick to push him and, together, the two have given us the best 1-2 punch in Division III."
Roth will be competing this weekend in two events, as he is ranked sixth in the weight throw and seventh in the shot put. Roth captured the SUNYAC title in the weight while being runner-up at the ECAC championships this past weekend. He was third in the shot put at both championships. He currently holds the school records in both events with distances of 17.02m in the shot and 18.87m in the weight.
Joining Roth this weekend are classmate, Patrick Weinert, and sophomores Joe Carr and Jake Alviene. Alviene returns to the indoor championships while this will be the first go-around for Weinert and Carr at the indoor championships. Alviene will compete in the 60m hurdles for a second straight year.
Weinert was an outdoor qualifier last spring in the hammer where he finished ninth in the event. Weinert will be competing in the weight throw this weekend.
Carr, along with Alviene, were part of the 4x100m relay that won the national championship last spring. Carr was also an All-American in the 200m dash after finishing eighth. Carr will be competing in the 60m dash event at this year's indoor championships.
"We knew coming into this season we had a lot of shoes to fill from last year's outdoor team," stated Posillico. "These four men are competing with a lot of confidence right now and have shown before that they can succeed on a big stage. Their hard work is paying off as our five entries will make SUNY Oneonta one of the most represented teams at the national championships."
