Warrensburg, Mo. (May 26, 2001) -- Behind the strength of nine All-Americans, including one national champion, the Central Missouri State University Mules placed fourth at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships, which ended on Saturday in Edwardsville, Ill. The Mules finished fourth with 42 points, representing their best team showing since back-to-back third-place finishes in 1997 and 1998.

St. Augustine's College won the meet easily with 80 points. Abilene Christian University was second with 59, followed by the University of California-Davis with 51.5, CMSU and Angelo State University with 40.

The Mules were led by the national-championship performance of Vladimir Golias (Sr., Pensa, Russia), who won the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Friday with a time of 8:44.02, which was less than a second shy of his own school record time of 8:43.04 turned in at last year's national meet. Golias becomes CMSU's first four-time national champion and only the second men's four-time event- winner in Division II meet history.

The Mules had seven other All-American efforts during the meet's final two days. On Saturday, the 1,600 meter relay team of David Baxter (So., Osceola, Mo., O.H.S.), Leif Kennedy (Fr., Clear Lake, Iowa, C.L.H.S.), Jeremy Knox (Sr., Moberly, Mo./M.H.S.) and Edwin Harris (Sr., Knob Noster, Mo., K.N.H.S.) finished third with a school-record time of 3:10.93, enabling CMSU to go from a tie for fifth place to fourth in the final team standings, while Kennedy was fifth in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:52.40, and Derek Kliethermes (Jr., Jefferson City, Mo., J.C.H.S.) and returning All-American Josh Roberts (So., Carthage, Mo., C.H.S.) were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the pole vault with heights of 15' 9" and 15' 3". Mike Knutson (Jr., Elk Mound, Wis., E.M.H.S.) and returning All-American Brayce Forsha (Sr., Richmond, Mo., R.H.S./Mo. Valley College) also finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 1,500 meter run with times of 3:56.84 and 3:59.02 to just miss earning All-America honors.

In addition to Golias' performance on Friday, the Mules had two athletes attain All-America status in the decathlon as Zack Miller (Sr., Paola, Kan., P.H.S./University of Kansas) and Aaron Crossley (So., Gladstone, Mo., North Kansas City H.S.) placed third and fourth, respectively, and one in the high jump as Andy Gilmore (Jr., Ashland, Mo., Southern Boone County H.S.) tied for sixth place. Gilmore cleared 6' 8.25", while Miller tallied a personal-best 6,860 points and Crossley won two of the 10 events (long jump and pole vault), en route to scoring 6,823 points. Ivan Varbanov [Fr., Sofia, Bulgaria, Regis H.S. (Eau Claire, Wis.)], who finished 14th in the triple jump with a mark of 47' 3.5" on Thursday, was also 10th in the high jump with a height of 6' 8.25".

The Mules' other award-winner came on the meet's first day as Duane Brisbon [Sr., Cross, S.C., Roberts H.S. (Holly Hill, S.C.)/East Central Mississippi C.C.] won All-America honors in the triple jump for the fifth time in his career at CMSU with a third-place showing of 51' 1.5" on Thursday. He was sixth at the outdoor championships in 1999 and second, fourth and sixth in three previous trips, respectively, to the indoor nationals.

Both of the Jennies' team members were in action on Friday. Cristie Stevenson (Jr., Sedalia, Mo., Smith-Cotton H.S.) finished 14th in the pole vault with a height of 10' 10", but did not score, while returning All-American Rachel Harvey (Jr., Branson, Mo., B.H.S.) finished fourth in her preliminary heat of the 800 meter run with a time of 2:10.83, but missed qualifying for the finals by .40 of a second.

The Mules' 400 meter relay team of Crossley, Greg Schmidt [Sr., Dallas, Texas, Plano (Texas) H.S.], Brisbon and Kevin O'Sadnick (Fr., St. Charles, Mo., Duchesne H.S.), Baxter, and Harris were unable to advance to the finals in their respective events on Thursday. The 400 meter relay team was fifth in its heat with a time of 41.53 seconds and Baxter was fifth in his heat of the 400 meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 54.93 seconds, while Harris, who was a returning All-American, did not finish his heat of the 400 meter dash.