FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sophomore Dylan Capwell (Hopatcong, N.J./Hopatcong) finished second in the 800 at the NCAA Finals on Saturday evening, the highest finish ever for a Monmouth athlete. He earns First Team All-America honors after running a school record and career best time of 1:46.70.
“Dylan made a lot of people know who Monmouth University was today,” said Head Coach Joe Compagni. “He raced very tough, carried himself with class and really represented our program and the school extremely well. Coach Tarello had Dylan ready to go and he put together a tremendous race.”
Capwell was just .65 seconds behind national champion Edward Kemboi of Iowa State, who ran 1:46.05. The pair separated themselves during the race, with Capwell outrunning last year’s indoor and outdoor national champion in the 800, Brandon McBride of Mississippi State as well as third place finisher Clayton Murphy of Akron. He earns his second All-American accolades in as many years after earning honorable mention All-America at the outdoor championships last year in the 800.
Last night, Capwell ran 1:48.23 in the second heat of the semifinals to take second in his heat and the automatic trip to tonight’s finals. His time was second overall last night to Kemboi across both heats, with the pair finishing one-two in the finals. It wraps up a season in which Capwell was a three-time MAAC Track Athlete of the Week, two-time ECAC Track Athlete of the Week, and the MAAC Most Valuable Track Performer at the conference championships. Capwell also ran 1:46.82 at the Armory in February, setting a MAAC record and running the best collegiate 800 at the Armory. That mark stood as a school record until tonight.
Monmouth scored eight points as a result of Capwell’s performances, and finished tied for 23rd overall in team scores.