Pittsburg State University junior Jeff Piepenbrink was named the NCAA Division II National Men’s Indoor Track & Field Athlete Tuesday (Mar. 4).
Piepenbrink won the pole vault and placed second in the heptathlon at the 2014 MIAA Indoor Championships, helping the Gorillas capture their first indoor conference title since 1995.
Piepenbrink winning pole vault clearance of 16-10 (5.13m) was the latest in a string of five performances in 2014 that have concluded with winning heights of greater than 16-9½ (5.12m), and was higher than all but one other vaulter’s best mark in 2014. The collegiate leader defeated a pair of top-seven vaulters in the process.
A personal-best heptathlon score of 5141 earned Piepenbrink eight points as the runner-up. He won the pole vault component and set a PR at 60 meters (7.23) in finishing third.
