Wiley College Ampomah wins national title at 2014 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championship

JOHN AMPOMAH
ALL-AMERICAN
WILEY COLLEGE WILDCAT
 COURTESY: WILEY COLLEGE ATHLETICS

GULF SHORES, Alabama  -- Less than a month removed from winning their first-ever conference championship in men's track and field, the Wiley Wildcats continue to earn recognition in athletics, this time on the national stage at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Wiley College sophomore John Ampomah became the first Wildcat male to ever claim an individual national championship as he won the javelin throw Friday. The sophomore from Konongo, Ghana, won the event with a throw of 74.42 meters.
Ampomah's winning mark bested the throw of second-place finisher Andy White of the University of British Columbia by more than two meters (72.35 m). Lindon Victor of Benedictine, Kansas, took third with a throw of 66.29 meters.

"I am very happy to represent my school at the national meet and to win Wiley's first individual event championship," Ampomah said.

A transfer from Neosho County Community College (Kansas), Ampomah's victory in the javelin throw was a fitting end to a very successful first season of four-year college competition. Ampomah won the javelin throw in all but one meet this year. He took third at the University of Texas' Clyde Littlefield Relays, a meet that features some of the best NCAA Division I athletes in the United States.

Ampomah, one of the top African javelin throwers competing at any level of competition, owned the longest throw of any NAIA competitor throughout the year. He finished 1.04 meters shy of breaking the 28-year old NAIA championship meet record.

Ampomah was not the only competitor in a Wiley uniform to enjoy the national spotlight. Fellow Ghanaian Atsu Nyamadi took third place in the decathlon, winning three field events in the process. Nyamadi, Wiley College's 2014 Male Athlete of the Year, won the long jump, shot put and javelin events.

"It is a great honor to represent your school in any meet, and I thank my athletes for giving their best," Wiley College head track and field coach Micah Tirop said. "I am very pleased with the continued success of Wiley College's track and field teams."

In the women's events, Wiley College's Doreen Agyei finished sixth nationally in the 200-meter dash.

FINAL RESULTS

By Alan Wiederhold
WILEY COLLEGE WILDCATS OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION