Edgar Townsend Becomes Greenville's Second Straight NCAA Division III 110-Meter Hurdle Champion

Published: April 13, 2021

GREENVILLE, Ill. - The track and field program at Greenville College has its second consecutive NCAA Division III national champion. Edgar Townsend, a senior from Saint Anne, Ill., and a graduate of Kankakee (Ill.) High School, won the 110-meter hurdle competition at the NCAA Division III national outdoor track and field championships held Thursday through Saturday, May 21-23, in Marietta, Ohio.

Townsend placed first in the finals with a mark of 14.24 seconds. His time broke his own venue record at Marietta College's Don Drumm Stadium which he had set in the preliminaries. In the first heat of three preliminaries, Townsend recorded a time of 14.39 seconds in winning the heat and qualifying for the finals.

In 2008 at the same national event, teammate Jarod Renford secured the NCAA Division III 110-meter hurdle championship, and Townsend earned an All-American award with his eighth place finish.

The NCAA Division III All-American recognition was Townsend's fourth of his indoor and outdoor career. He earned All-American awards in the 110-meter hurdle competition in 2008 and 2009. He ran as a member of the All-American 400-meter relay team in 2006, and earlier this year, Townsend placed sixth in the 55-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division national indoor championships.

In addition, Townsend holds school records in the outdoor 110-meter hurdles, outdoor 400-meter relay, and the indoor 1,600-meter relay.

Townsend awarded Greenville a total of 10 points, giving the Panthers a ranking of 29th of 81 teams recording points in the championship team scoring.

Those qualifying for the national championships in other events included junior Mark Mitchell of Kansas City, Mo., in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash; and freshman Penny Grant of Beardstown, Ill., in the long jump.