Stillwater's Jake Watson earned All-America honors for the second year in a row after placing sixth in the one-mile race on Saturday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

The Notre Dame senior posted a time of 4:05.51, which was just more than a second behind national champion Leonel Manzano (4:04.45) of Texas in what turned into a tightly-packed and tactical race. Sam Bair III (4:05.50) of Pittsburgh caught Watson with a lean at the tape to squeeze into fifth place by just .01.

Watson, who finished 10th in the event to earn All-America honors a year ago, turned in a time of 4:05.73 during preliminaries on Friday to earn a spot in the finals.

Just one week earlier, Watson just missed running a sub-four-minute mile for the second time when he posted a time of 4:00.39 to win at the Alex Wilson Invitational by nearly three seconds. That time, which ranks as the sixth-fastest all-time at Notre Dame, earned Watson a ticket to nationals.

Schantzen earns All-America honors in shot put for Oles

While Jake Watson collected 13 letters at Stillwater in cross country, Nordic skiing and track, John Schantzen was another three-sport standout for the Ponies who has excelled at the collegiate level.

Schantzen, a sophomore who competes in two sports at St. Olaf, earned All-America honors on Saturday after placing seventh in the shot put at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at Northern University in Ohio. Schantzen finished with a distance of 53-3 1/2.

Schantzen finished second at the MIAC Championships on March 8 with a toss of 51-6 1/2 to qualify provisionally for nationals.

In early February, Schantzen was named the MIAC Field Athlete of the Week after winning the Minnesota State-Mankato Open with a distance of 52- 3/4.

Schantzen, who is also a key contributor for the St. Olaf football team which finished 8-2 (6-2 MIAC) in the fall, received Division III USTFCCCA All-Academic honors as a freshman a year ago. To qualify for the All-Academic Track and Field Team, athletes must carry a 3.25 or higher grade point average and obtain an NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying mark.

Schantzen won the MIAC title in the shot put during the outdoor season a year ago.

At Stillwater, Schantzen earned all-state honors in football, wrestling and track.

Gullikson, Badgers receive No. 3 seed in Midwest Region

Stillwater graduate Kevin Gullikson and the Wisconsin Badgers received a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional and will face 14th-seeded Cal St. Fullerton (24-8) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The Badgers (29-4) defeated Illinois in the Big Ten championship game on Sunday to sweep the regular season and tournament titles for the first time in school history.

The No. 3 seed is the second-highest in school history, bettered only by the No. 2 seed Wisconsin last year. The Badgers are hoping for a longer stay in this year's tournament after getting upset by UNLV in the second round a year ago.

Gullikson has played in 15 of 33 games for the Badgers. The 6-foot-7 junior forward is averaging 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game while shooting 46 percent (10-22) from the field.

If the Badgers defeat Cal St. Fullerton they would face either USC (21-11) or Kansas State (20-11) for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Perkins enjoying solid spring on the mound for Twins

Glen Perkins provided one perfect inning of work for the Minnesota Twins in Tuesday's 4-2 exhibition victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Stillwater graduate has posted a 1-1 record with an ERA of 5.73 in six appearances this spring. The left-hander has given up 15 hits with four walks and six strikeouts while allowing seven runs in 11 innings.

Hampered by injury for much of last season, Perkins pitched 28.2 innings in 19 appearances with an ERA of 3.14. He struck out 20 while allowing 12 walks. He is still looking for his first major league victory.

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