EMPORIA, Kansas---Stefan Jungmichel fought through adversity to complete the first day of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships at Welch Stadium.

"Today started out well," stated head coach Sean Henning. "Stefan ran solid in the hundred, not quite what we wanted, but very close so we were definitely content with it. Long jump was a little less than we hoped for but we had a good mark in shot so we felt good going into high jump. His warm-ups weren't going how we would have liked in the high jump, but he was competing really well."

Jungmichel battled against 15 individuals in the decathlon. He earned the most points in the 100m, collecting 827 points with his eighth-place finish and time of 11.15. Jungmichel's next-best event was the long jump where he collected 776 points for his mark of 6.84m.

Jungmichel's highest finishes of the day were sixth place in the shot put and high jump. Jungmichel recorded a throw of 13.40m to earn 692 points in the shot put and received 731 points for his mark in the high jump (1.92m).

Jungmichel suffered an injury during the second-to-last event of the day. The injury forced him to end the high jump early and would limit him during the 400m run.

"Unfortunately, he strained his calf on his first attempt of high jump at 1.92m," said Henning. "He had to end the high jump competition at that point."

Henning continued, "We tried to do everything we could, but he just wasn't able to run the 400 at full strength. Shout out to Abner, our athletic trainer, for all of his hard work."

Jungmichel showcased his resiliency during the last event of the day, battling against his injury to finish.

The Graduate Student ended the day with 3026 points.

"We will see how the rest of the day goes and if he is able to start tomorrow or not," concluded Henning. "Unfortunate, as I think he would have been sitting in eighth or ninth after day one. We like the opportunity we have going into day two. Either way, we are proud of Stefan for stepping up in the 400 and at least giving it his best. Definitely wasn't what we wanted, but sometimes God has different plans for the day."

Due to his injury, Jungmichel was unfortunately unable to finish the rest of the decathlon.