With his family on hand to cheer him on, heptathlete Nathaniel Mechler, a Mapleton native, became a first team All-American at an NCAA track and field event earlier this month.
Nathaniel, who became interested in track and field as a student at Drayton Heights Public School and continued to compete while attending Elmira District Secondary School, is now a sophomore at University of Houston.
His parents, Roland and Colleen of Goldstone, and sisters Emilie and Meaghan, attended the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships in College Station, Texas on the March 10 to 11 weekend.
“Qualifying for the meet (only the top 16 multi-athletes in the nation make it) was a big honour for him,” said Roland. “He was also able to finish top eight, which made him a first team All-American.”
After winning the heptathlon for the University of Houston at his conference meet in Birmingham, Alabama just over three weeks ago with a school record 5,704 points, he came into the championships as the 11th ranked heptathlete in the NCAA.
The indoor heptathlon consists of seven events held over two days, with scoring points compiled based on the time run or the distance thrown or jumped in various events.
At the championship meet, Nathaniel set four personal bests on his way to another school record of 5,758 points and eighth place, which gave him the prestigious title of 1st team All-American.
On day one, Mechler ran a personal best 7.07 seconds in the 60m, long jumped a personal best 7.48m, shot put 12.39m and high jumped 1.93m. On day two, he ran the 60m hurdles in 8.29 seconds, pole vaulted 4.66m, and finished with a final personal best of 2:39 in the 1,000m run.
Despite being a sophomore at University of Houston, he became the first multi-sport athlete in the history of the program to become an All-American.
Roland said Nathaniel’s attention now turns outdoors, where he will compete in the decathlon (10 events over two days) and hopes to fulfill a childhood dream of competing at the NCAA Outdoor D1 Championships (at the University of Oregon’s prestigious Bowerman Track from June 8 to 10).
