Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
NCAA Indoor Championships
Heppenstall Finishes Fifth in NCAA Indoors 800m Final
3/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Official Results
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeTrack)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Wake Forest men's track and field freshman Robert Heppenstall wrapped up his first indoor season by placing fifth in the 800m dash final at the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday evening at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham Ala.
Heppenstall added to his ACC title in the event by garnering First Team All-American honors by finishing in the top eight nationally. After qualifying for the final with a 1:47.91 showing on Friday in the preliminary round, he posted a fifth-place finish with a 1:49.06 showing on Saturday.
The All-American honor for Heppenstall was the third-ever for a Deacon men's indoor performer and the first since Michael Bingham and Brent LaRue earned the status in 2009 in the 400m and the heptathlon, respectively. Bingham was the 400m national champion.
The only other Demon Deacon All-American in the 800m was Warren Sherman, who earned the honor outdoors in 1995.
The Hamilton, Ontario native was the first of two freshmen in the race to finish and was the ACC's lone representative in the race. Clayton Murphy of Akron won the national title with a time of 1:46.68.
A re-air of the championship broadcast that aired on ESPN3 is scheduled for this Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, and again on March 23 at 10 p.m. on ESPNU.
Heppenstall became the Deacons' first-ever ACC Champion in the 800m on Feb. 27 with a record-breaking performance at the conference meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury Crossing, Mass.
There, he clocked in at 1:47.35 to break the Wake Forest school record, ACC Championships meet record and the Canadian Junior record. The previous league meet record was set in 1998, while the school and Canadian Junior records had stood since 1991.
Prior to this weekend, Heppenstall had competed in the 800m at three meets, placing third at the Camel City Invitational and second in the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet before winning the ACC Championships.
The rookie also won the mile in his collegiate debut at the JDL College Kick-off Classic in December and helped the Deacs win the distance medley relay at the UNCG Spartan Team Challenge and the 4x400m relay at the Chipotle Marshall Invitational.
The NCAA Indoor Championships conclude the 2015-16 indoor track and field season. The Demon Deacons start their outdoor season by hosting the Wake Forest Open on March 18-19.
Players Mentioned
