Mitchell Black Wins Outdoor Title, Sweeps 2015 NCAA 800m

(5/26/2015 9:51 PM) Full Results

Mitchell Black won his second NCAA title in as many trips, adding an outdoor 800m DIII NCAA championship to his victory from indoor NCAAs in March. Held at St. Lawrence in Canton, NY, Mitchell won his prelim heat on Friday in 1:50.60 to automatically qualify for finals on Saturday.

As the defending indoor champion, the top returner from 2014, and the top seed heading in to the final, there was a bit of pressure for Mitchell to perform well and live up to the lofty expectations he has set for himself. The pace was soft for the first 400m, with no one seeming to want to lead in the windy and slightly cold conditions. Coming through the first 400m in 56.5, Mitchell tucked comfortably next to Cook-Gallardo of Carleton and let him pull the group around the turn. With 300m to go, Mitchell made a decisive move to set himself in front of the pack and did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the race. Royer of La-Crosse and Hernandez of Ramapo made strong surges to attempt to make a pass on the home stretch, but Mitchell held them off with an excellent finishing kick to earn his second NCAA title, yet another negative split race where his second 400m was faster than the first.

Mitchell is the first athlete since 2007 to win both the indoor and outdoor NCAA titles, as Jimmy O'Brien of Ohio Northern also achieved that double eight years ago. In besting the field, Mitchell has now beaten every runner he has faced multiple times at an NCAA championship. After losing to McKena Ramos in indoor 2014, Mitchell prevailed outdoors that season in the 800m final. Finishing behind Andrew Carey in both indoors and outdoors in 2014, Mitchell returned the favor in 2015 to win the NCAA indoor title head to head. Losing to homestate rival Jacob Ellis in 2013 outdoors, Mitchell swept the head-to-head matchups in 2014 indoors and out. Finally, after losing to Daniel Bonthius and Sean Royer in the outdoor 2013 800m final, Mitchell beat them both on Saturday in achieving his second NCAA title.

A well-earned victory, after an incredible junior campaign. Congratulations Mitchell.


Full Results