(Release courtesy of Roberts Wesleyan Athletic Communications)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Roberts Wesleyan’s sophomore pole vaulter Austin Melvin finished third at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday. With his finish, he earned First Team All-American honors.

Melvin jumped into the competition on the first height and cleared the 4.86-meter (15' 11 ¼") bar on his first attempt and did the same at the second bar set at 5.01 meters (16' 5 ¼").

When the bar was raised to 5.16 meters (16' 11"), Melvin had his first miss of the day but cleared the bar on his second attempt to move on in the competition.

Only nine vaulters remained as the bar was raised to 5.26 meters (17' 3"). Six vaulters missed on three attempts and were knocked out of the competition, and Melvin cleared the bar on his second try to advance with just three vaulters remaining.

After a pair of misses at 5.36 meters (17' 7"), which would have tied the school record, Melvin passed to the next height at 17' 9" but missed on his first attempt and was knocked out.

Pole Vault champion Vlad Malykhin from Harding University cleared the 17' 9" bar, and runner-up Dolan Gonzalez from Grand Valley State cleared 17' 7" on his second try before missing all three attempts at 17' 9".

Also competing in Day One of the Track and Field Championships was District of Columbia freshman Kyndra Hines, who ran in the 60-meter hurdles. In her heat, she finished with a time of 8.55, which was not enough to qualify for the finals, but she finished 12^th overall.