O'Brien earns All-America honors twice at NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, now is 10-time All-American

Jimmy O'Brien

By Steven Wright

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MARIETTA - Senior Jimmy O'Brien was fifth in the 800-meter run and sixth in the 1,500-meter run to earn All-American honors twice on the final day of the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

O'Brien finishes his career at Ohio Northern as a 10-time All-American, including three national championships over his four years.

Over the first lap of the 1,500-meter race, O'Brien stayed in the second half of the 12-person final before jumping into the top three until the final 100 meters.

O'Brien finished the race in 3:54.56, just .06 seconds slower than his preliminary qualifying time. Fellow Ohio Athletic Conference athlete Ty Griffin from Mount Union won the race in 3:53.41.

About an hour and a half after the 1,500, O'Brien ran the 800-meter final in 1:51.83 to finish in fifth.

Patrick Roach from Messiah (Pa.) went out extremely fast at the beginning of the race to build a commanding lead after the first 400-meters. However, Emmanuel Bofa from Whitworth (Wash.) caught Roach down the final stretch to claim his second consecutive national title in the event.