NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Wilmington College men’s track and field team member Antone Truss finished 12th Saturday in the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championship meet hosted by North Central College.

To be selected to compete in the national championship meet, an individual must be ranked within the top 15 (men) or 17 (women) of their event. Truss qualified for the meet in the high jump by clearing 2.07-meters. This clearance seeded him eighth going into national competition.

This was Truss’ first time competing on the national stage, but if he had any jitters, he certainly did not show them as he jumped. He finished the competition 12th, clearing 1.97-meters- only missing All American status (NCAA top-eight) by one attempt.

“His third attempt at 2.02-meters was good but [the bar] wiggled off. If it had stayed on he would have been an All-American, only seven guys made that height,” explained Wilmington College head coach Ron Combs. “I’m really proud of Antone, he’s had a great indoor season. Hopefully he can use [his indoor nationals experience as a stepping stone] and get back for outdoor nationals.”

While for some athletes, finishing just out of the top-eight might be discouraging, Truss was grateful for the experience, and is excited to begin training and has set his goals high for the outdoor season.

“I thought today was a great experience,” said Truss. “I’ve never competed at the national meet before, so I thought this was a great opportunity for me. Now the only thing left to do is for me to look forward to the outdoor season and to start training again on Monday.”