Schepp Officially Set To Soar At Nationals

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/22/17)---Jackson Schepp was rewarded for his gutsy performance at the North Central Invite by officially qualifying for the NCAA National Outdoor Meet in Geneva, Ohio on May 25-27.

Schepp qualified in the decathlon in the final meet of the season with a 10-event score of 6,455 points. He posted that total while competing on an injured, and severely bandaged, right leg. Schepp's total is No.8 on the list of decathlon scores in Division III this season and the second highest total in program history.

2017 NCAA National Outdoor Meet Menu
- NCAA Meet Schedule of Events (pdf)

- NCAA Meet General Information

- NCAA Meet Live Video

- NCAA Meet Live Results

It will be the first national outdoor meet for Schepp who qualified for the 2017 NCAA National Indoor Meet in the heptathlon. He went on to place 10th in heptathlon and finished 69 points out of eighth place which would have earned him All-American honors.

Schepp is the first Cobber athlete to qualify for the NCAA National Outdoor Meet since 2015 when Brandon Zylstra qualified in the high jump.

The decathlon should be one of the most hotly contested events at the NCAA Meet this year. The difference between the No.4 qualifier and the next nine athletes in the meet is a scant 128 points.

"The difference between earning All-American honors and finishing towards the back of the pack will be one event," commented Concordia head coach Garrick Larson. "The eight athletes who put together 10 quality events without a miss will most likely earn All-American honors."

The NCAA decathlon begins on Thursday, May 25 at 10:30 a.m. with the 100-meter dash which is the first of five events on the day. Besides the 100-meter dash the athletes will also compete in the long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters on Thursday. The decathlon will conclude with the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters on Friday, May 26 beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The last Cobber athlete to earn All-American honors at an NCAA National Outdoor Meet was Joe Schmidgall who finished seventh in the decathlon at the 2002 national meet.

Concordia NCAA National Outdoor Meet Qualifiers
2017 – Jackson Schepp - decathlon
2015 – Brandon Zylstra – high jump
2011 – Caleb Giesen – decathlon
2009 – Paul Westmark – decathlon
2005 – Nick Myran – 1500 meters
2004 – Nick Myran – 1500 meters
2002 – Joe Schmidgall - decathlon      
2000 – Joe Schmidgall – high jump
2000 – Adam Strainer – decathlon
2000 – Micah Benson – long jump
2000 – Chris Goebel – 1500 meters
1997 – Peter Benson – 400-meter hurdles
1996 – Aaron Banks – shot put, discus, hammer throw
1995 – Aaron Banks – discus, shot put, hammer throw
1994 – Aaron Banks – discus, shot put
1994 – James Lenhoff – javelin
1992 – Jon Ault – hammer throw
1991 – Jon Ault – hammer throw
1990 – Mark Olson – shot put
1989 – Don Worcester – 110-meter hurdles
1988 – Greg Defor – 800 meters
1988 – Jay Jorgenson – 400-meter hurdles
1985 – Kurtis Waters – pole vault
1985 – Daniel Flauer – hurdles
1985 – Henrik Pederson – steeplechase
1984 – Howard Berglund – javelin
1984 – David Swanberg – 400 meters
1984 – Henrik Pederson – steeplechase
1983 – Howard Berglund – javelin
1983 – David Dahl – pole vault
1982 – Kevin Johnson – steeplechase
1980 – John Mutschelknaus – 5,000 meters
1979 – Steve Fox – 110-meter hurdles
1979 – Steve Fox – 400-meter hurdles
1979 – Mike Ranum – 400-meter hurdles
1979 – Ron Kangas – javelin
1979 – Bob Dale – high jump
1979 – John Mutschelknaus – 5,000 meters
1979 – John Mutschelknaus – 10,000 meters
1978 – Steve Fox – 400-meter hurdles