Nelson runner Matti Erickson is an NCAA champion.
Erickson won the men鈥檚 800-metre Sunday at the NCAA indoor track and field championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
Competing for the University of Oregon Ducks, Erickson moved into second place on the bell lap and took the lead with about 100 metres left. He held on from there, winning in one minute 46.43 seconds.
Erickson鈥檚 victory is his first NCAA indoor national title, and makes him only the third Oregon male athlete to win the 800. He was ranked 15th overall heading into the meet, but set a personal best of 1:46.11 in the semifinal and won by over a second.
The victory comes during a banner year for the 22-year-old. He previously won the Big Ten men's 800 final on March 1, and last November became the first Canadian student-athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal with Nike.
