WD Alum Matt Curtis Earns All-America Honor

Rutgers University-Camden submitted the following information:  

NAPERVILLE, IL  – Matt Curtis (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford) can officially add “All-American” to the list of his celebrated accomplishments during the 2012-13 indoor track season.

The Rutgers-Camden junior finished seventh in the 400-meter dash finals at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday afternoon to earn his All-America honor. Curtis posted a 400-meter time of 49.18 at the national finals, which were held at North Central College.

Curtis had qualified for the finals on Friday night, when he ran a 49.22 clocking in the preliminaries to tie for seventh place out of the three heats.

Senior Aric Hoeschen of Wisconsin-La Crosse earned the national championship in a time of 48.20, barely edging Alex Rindone of Augustana, who posted a 48.21 clocking.

Curtis becomes only the second indoor track All-American at Rutgers-Camden. Frank Iwanicki earned the honor at 800 meters during the 2008-09 season.

The success of Curtis also builds on the overall Rutgers-Camden track success and adds to the Scarlet Raptors’ phenomenal outdoor season last spring, when Tim VanLiew (Deptford, NJ/Deptford) won the Division III national championship in the javelin. VanLiew owns two of the seven outdoor track All-American honors in Rutgers-Camden history.

Curtis’ All-American accomplishment on Saturday capped a phenomenal junior season for him, which also included the 400-meter championships at both the ECAC and the New Jersey Athletic Conference meets. He set a program record with a 48.39 clocking in the 400-meter dash at the ECAC Championships March 2. He also was named the NJAC Men’s Track Most Outstanding Athlete.

With his long indoor season behind him, Curtis can gear up for outdoor track season, where he will be looking to return to the NCAA Championships in May. He made his first NCAA Championship appearance last May, running the 400-meter intermediate hurdles.