EUGENE, Ore. – Manhattan College's Tom Bechert (Munich, Germany) has withdrawn from the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships due to injury. Bechert aggravated a preexisting condition during the first day of competition in the decathlon on Wednesday, and he decided to withdraw rather than risk further damage.
Bechert was sitting in 23rd place overall after compiling 3500 points on Day One. It was while warming up for the first event of Day Two—the 110 meter hurdles—that he determined he couldn't continue.
Because he advanced to the NCAA Championships, Bechert, who set a school record with 7767 points at the IC4A Championships, will receive All-America recognition when those honors are officially announced next week.
Manhattan has one other competitor entered in the NCAA Championships. Mohamed Koita (Cergy, France) will be in action at 6:20 p.m. EDT on Friday in the men's high jump. The beginning of Friday's competition will be streamed live on the Pac-12 website, while ESPNU picks up coverage from 7:30-10 p.m. EDT.
