Greenville's Jarod Renford Races to NCAA Division III 110-Meter Hurdle Championship

Published: April 13, 2021

GREENVILLE, Ill. -- The track and field program at Greenville College has its first NCAA Division III national champion. Jarod Renford, a senior from Niagara Falls, N.Y., won the 110-meter hurdle competition at the NCAA Division III national outdoor track and field championships on Saturday.Renford placed first in the finals with a mark of 14.22 seconds. His time ranked as the NCAA Division III season's best and set a venue record at Titan Stadium's J.J. Keller Field on the campus of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.Renford has familiarized himself with the NCAA national championship meet over the past three seasons, earning his third All-American award in three years. In 2006, he ran with the fourth place 400-meter relay team, and he finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles in 2007.At the NCCAA national championships earlier in May, Renford won the outstanding performer award at the meet. He was also the Greenville men's track and field most valuable player. He leaves Greenville with indoor school records in the 800-meter relay, 1600-meter relay, 55-meter hurdles, 60-meter hurdles, and 200-meter dash. He holds outdoor school records in the 110-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, and the 400-meter relay.He is perfect example of what a Christian student athlete should be, said head men's and women's track and field coach Brian Patton.Teammate Edgar Townsend, a junior from Saint Anne, Ill., competed with Renford in the finals of the 110-meter hurdles, finishing eighth in 14.65 seconds. The All-American award was Townsend's second in three years. Townsend was also a member of the 400 meter relay team in 2006.Renford and Townsend combined for 11 points, giving Greenville a ranking of 25th in the championship team scoring.In the women's NCAA Division III national championships, senior Christina Niehaus of Gillespie, Ill., became an NCAA Division III All-American for the fourth time. She threw the discus a distance of 152 feet, 2 inches (46.38 meters) to rank seventh in the competition.It marked the third time in Niehaus' four-year career that she was an outdoor NCAA Division III All-American in the discus. She also earned indoor All-American accolades in the shot put in 2007.Those qualifying for the national championships in other events included Renford, 200-meter dash; sophomore Rodney Oyler of Macon, Ill., 800-meter run; senior Jamecia McCall of St. Louis, Mo., 200-meter dash and long jump; and sophomore Abby Owens of Orion, Ill., high jump.