Jurcevich Earns Track All-America Honors at NCAA Championships
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
June 3, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State senior Jim Jurcevich (Defiance, Ohio) earned All-America honors on Wednesday evening at the 1999 NCAA Outdoor Track Championships in Boise, Idaho, with a fifth-place finish in the 10,000 meter run. Junior Steve Schell (Dearborn, Mich.) just missed becoming an All-American by finishing 10th.
To finish fifth, Jurcevich ran a time of 29:25.14. Schell finished 10th at 30:29.76. Nathan Nutter of Stanford won the race at 29:11.96.
Jurcevich ends his Spartan career as a four-time track All-American. His first honor came at 5,000 meters during the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships where he placed eighth. During the 1998 outdoor season, he became an All-American at 10,000 meters with a ninth-place finish. This past spring, Jurcevich once again earned honors at 5,000 meters with another eighth-place finish.
Jurcevich and Schell both automatically qualified for the championships on March 27, while running in the Stanford Invitational. Schell established a school record at 10,000 meters with a time of 28:39.74. Jurcevich's time of 28:45.68 also bettered the old school mark. In the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Jurcevich placed second in the 10,000 meters, while Schell finished fourth.
The next Spartan to compete at the NCAA Championships will be Ryan Taylor (Melbourne, Australia), who will run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals on Thursday night at 7:10 p.m. MDT. The steeplechase finals will be held on Saturday at 8:25 p.m.
10,000 meter run 1. Nathan Nutter (Stanford) 29:11.96 2. Jason Balkman (Stanford) 29:12.91 3. Brent Hauser (Stanford) 29:14.07 4. Nolan Swanson (Wake Forest) 29:21.16 5. JIM JURCEVICH (MSU) 29:25.14 6. Abdi Abdirahman (Arizona) 29:34.03 7. Ryan Shay (Notre Dame) 29:55.78 8. Chris Bailey (Illinois State) 30:00.17 9. Richie Brinker (California) 30:01.93 10. STEVE SCHELL (MSU) 30:29.76 11. Adam Daily (Arkansas) 30:29.80 12. Julius Mwangi (Illinois State) 30:34.53 13. Rene Carlsen (Oklahoma State) 30:34.90 14. Nathaniel Lane (Oklahoma St.) 30:50.57 15. Jason Schoenfeld (Weber State) 31:03.37 16. Mike Ross (Army) 31:37.83
