CLAREMONT, Calif. -- Christopher Newport University junior Richard Roethel missed out on his second national championship of the year, but still managed to collect his third straight All-American honors in the Decathlon, finishing seventh at the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Roethel managed a seventh place finish despite no qualifying for any point in the pole vault. 

The Captains junior finished with 6,627 points in the event, just five points shy of a top five effort and only 157 points out of second place. Roethel looked to be in control of the Decathlon with a 202-point lead after day one, and he increased his lead to over 250 points after two events on Friday. Roethel won the Discus with a 37.18m toss and had compiled 5,416 points at the time.

His national championship hopes were dashed in the next event, though, as he was unable to clear any height in the Pole Vault. Defending and eventual 2012 National Champion Ethan Miller took a commanding lead with the slip by Roethel, with just two events remaining.

Roethel performed well in the remaining two events, finishing fourth in the Javelin (52.86m) and grabbing 580 points in the 1500M Run (4:56.48). It was good enough to finish among the top eight and earn All-American honors in the event for a third consecutive season.

He also competed in the Men's High Jump, finishing 12th overall with a high clear of 2.03m. Senior Dira Hansen ran in the 800M Run for the Captains on Friday, finishing fifth in her heat with a time of 2:14.07. Sophomore Jenna Elliott joined Roethel on the podium on Friday, after finishing sixth in the Women's High Jump.