It was a perfect day to watch the NCAA D-III National Championship meet begin and an even better one to be a fan of MSOE track and field as first-year hurler Gavin Fritsch finished third to earn All-American honors in the discus on Thursday afternoon in northwestern New York state.

RESULTS
Fritsch – 3rd Place (52.55 meters)

MEN'S TEAM RECAP

• Fritsch started out in the second flight of the day but got off to somewhat of a rough start. With a foul to begin and a second throw of 42.36 meters, Fritsch sat in 18th at the time of his next attempt. It was then that he jumped all the way up to fourth with a huge toss of 51.28 meters that advanced him to the finals.
• In his first throw of the final round, Fritsch continued to jump up the leaderboard and put himself in the top three with a toss of 52.55 meters. While his next two attempts (45.84 meters and 50.37 meters) did not push him up higher in the rankings, he held on to third third place after all competitors had gone to become MSOE's latest All-American.

WORDS FROM WILDER

• "I couldn't be happier for Gavin, Coach Massoels, and our program! Gavin is an exceptional athlete and even better person! He's had a great season both indoors and outdoors, and to finish as an All-American as a freshman is super exciting. The future is very bright for Gavin." – Coach Deren Wilder.

SEASON WRAPPED

• Fritsch's All-American finish makes him the second Raider in program history to achieve the honor with the last being MSOE Raiders Hall of Fame member Jerome Rhodes back in 2015. Fritsch's mark back on May 18 of 53.02 meters made him the school record holder in the event and he now holds the honor of being the highest Raider finisher ever at a track and field national championship in any event, surpassing Rachel Eggebrecht's fourth place finish in the outdoor 800 meter run back in 1997.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red and White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.