Four Canadians earn All-American status on day three of NCAA Championships

Robert Heppenstall, Rory Linkletter, Marco Arop and Justyn Knight all achieved All-American status Friday night at the NCAA Championships. All-American honours goes to the top eight in every event. 

#NCAATF 5000m Final: Two ?? in the Top 8 with @justyn_knight closing out his @CuseXCTF career as national runner-up ? & Rory Linkletter (@ThePapaLinks) bounces back from a tough 10,000m to grab the 8th spot. pic.twitter.com/BlwjeL8sDE

— Athletics Canada (@AthleticsCanada) June 9, 2018

Justyn Knight of Toronto, Ont. finished second in the 5,000m with a strong kick. Knight moved up from fifth to second in the last 200m to secure the runner-up position. Knight ran a 13:55.03 to finish off his collegiate career at Syracuse University. Knight is long-listed for the Bowerman Award, which is the most prestigious award in NCAA Track and Field. The Bowerman winner will be announced later this year. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjSUUZzgkDu/?taken-by=justyn.knight

Rory Linkletter of Calgary, Alberta finished eighth in the 5,000m. The BYU junior was very active in the race, and ran a 13:58.20 to grab the last All-American spot. Linkletter also ran the 10,000m alongside Ben Flanagan on Wednesday. 

Freshman Marco Arop had a huge kick to secure second in the men’s 800m. Arop ran a personal best of 1:45.25 to become runner-up. Arop attends Mississippi State, and now holds the school freshman record for the 800m.

Arop’s time is the second fastest Canadian mark over 800m this outdoor season behind Brandon McBride, who also attended Mississippi State. 

✅ Top 10 Team Finish
✅ NCAA Runner-Up
✅ MSU Freshman Record

Today was a good day#HailState?https://t.co/fXhhFFVHzw

— Mississippi State T&F (@HailStateTF) June 9, 2018

Robert Heppenstall of Hamilton, Ont. finished eighth in the 800m in a season’s best time of 1:47.14. Heppenstall in a junior at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. 

Saturday is the final day of the NCAA Championships. Canadians to watch in the women’s events are: Charlotte Prouse in the 3,000m steeplechase, Ashley Taylor in the 800m, and Georgia Ellenwood in the heptathlon.