Ferris State's Cody Stilwell Finishes 11th In Weight Throw On Opening Day At D2 Track Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University opened action in the 2018 NCAA Division Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday (March 9) with one competitor taking part in day one competition.

FSU's Cody Stilwell (Cadillac) finished 11th overall in the men's weight throw with a performance of 19.27 meters on the opening day for the Bulldogs.

Stilwell was one of two Bulldog men's athletes chosen to compete in the D2 Track and Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas, with FSU senior high jumper Jon Cok (Grand Rapids/Christian) slated to compete on the final day Saturday (March 10) in his respective event.

Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

The championships areb being held at the Robert W. Plaster Center. Pittsburg State University and the Crawford County Convention & Visitors Bureau are serving as co-hosts of the championships.

Heading into the national meet, Stilwell held the nation's fifth-best throw this year in his event with a school-record performance of 20.84 meters. Meanwhile, Cok's top effort this season of 2.11 meters in the high jump ranks 13th nationally going into the meet.

Recently, both finished third in their respective events at the 2018 GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Kelly Family Sports Center in Allendale. Stilwell had a toss of 65-11 3/4" at the conference indoor meet with Cok jumping 6-10 1/4" at the event.

A year ago, Cok earned All-America honors in the high jump at the D2 Indoor Championships in Birmingham (Ala.) with a sixth-place performance. He became the first male student-athlete at FSU to earn All-America accolades in track and field since 2010 when Greg Burns finished sixth in the pole vault at the national indoor meet.

Both Cok and Stilwell also competed last May at the D2 Outdoor National Championships in Bradenton, Fla., where Cok finished 15th overall at the high jump and Stilwell placed 18th in the hammer throw in his initial national competition.