Wilmington College junior Antone Truss is headed back to the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championship, this time the outdoor national meet.

Truss, a Yellow Springs High School graduate, competes 1:30 p.m. Friday at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva in the high jump.

Truss enters the high jump ranked 9th nationally. He joins Christian Patterson and Mason Metts as the only Wilmington College student-athletes in the last nine years to qualify for both the indoor and outdoor championships in the same season.

“I’m really proud of the dedication and commitment that Antone has shown this year,” said Wilmington head coach Ron Combs. “He’s matured a lot as a student and athlete in the last year and it has showed in all facets of his life. He has accomplished a lot in outdoor, winning the OAC and being runner-up in All-Ohio despite battling an ankle injury on his plant foot most of the last month.”

Truss finished 12th with a jump of 1.97 meters, barely missing All-America honors, at the indoor national meet. That experience, according to Combs, will benefit the former Bulldogs standout this time around.

“When he qualified and competed at the indoor nationals, he was really nervous and it showed in his performance,” said Combs. “I think the knowledge he gained from that experience is going to help him at outdoor nationals.”

The top eight finishers in each event earn All-America honors. The top 20 male and top 22 female times/marks in each event along with the top 16 relay teams in the nation have qualified for the meet.

Junior Pierce Burnam was edged out in his bid to qualify in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing 21st nationally. The New Richmond High School graduate entered the final days ranked 20th with a time of 53.62, but it was eclipsed by a time of 53.20 on the final day.