The third trip to the NCAA Division III Track & Field
Championships was indeed the charm for Albion College senior Nick
Morgan (Flint/Northern). Getting a great boost off the
second-to-last hurdle, Morgan broke away from a neck-and-neck field
to win the 2004 national championship in the 110-meter hurdles with
a time of 14.56 seconds.
The final race featured four athletes who achieved All-America status in the 110-high hurdles in 2003, including defending champion Skip Ivery of Wittenberg (Ohio) University and runner-up Derek Toshner of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. Morgan topped the field, with Toshner again coming in second with a time of 14.59 seconds.
"I knew it would be a tight race because there was plenty of competition with three All-Americans in the final," Morgan said. "In hurdles, you never run a perfect race because when you are running at full speed it is never going to be the way you want it to be. Today's race came down to who made the least amount of mistakes."
"When I crossed the final hurdle, I didn't see anyone in front of me," Morgan added. "When I crossed the finish line, I looked to my right and I could see I had beaten Toshner by the look on his face."