NEW ORLEANS, La. – Webster University junior sprinter Jacob Ridenhour (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville) made history on Tuesday afternoon as he was named an NCAA Division III All-American in two events by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (UTFCCCA).
 
Ridenhour earned All-American honors during the 2020 indoor season in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes after qualifying for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in those two events. He is one of 45 Division III student athletes that earned All-America honors in at least two events during the indoor season, including seven different athletes earning All-America honors in three events.
 
The All-American honors for Ridenhour during the indoor season mark the first time in school history that a Gorlok men's track and field athlete has earned All-American honors in indoor track and the second time in his collegiate career that Ridenhour earned All-America accolades as he was tabbed an All-American in the 200-meter dash after finishing as the national runner-up in the event at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
Ridenhour had just wrapped up practice in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 12, a day before the national championship meet was scheduled to begin, when the NCAA canceled all championship events due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
 
Due to the fact that the NCAA canceled all the championship events, the USTFCCCA Executive Committee decided to adjust the All-America selection criteria due to the cancellation of the Division III Indoor Track Championships and all the individuals and relay team members that were selected to this year's indoor championship event will be recognized as All-American for the 2020 indoor season.
 
During the 2020 indoor season, Ridenhour, who earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, recorded the seventh fastest time in Division III in the 60-meter dash and the fourth fastest time in the 200-meter dash. In the 60-meter dash, he recorded a school record time of 6.85 at the Missouri Collegiate Challenge on Feb. 22 and then tallied a school and meet record 200-meter time of 21.97 at the Wartburg Last Chance Qualifier.
 
At this year's inaugural St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, Ridenhour was named the league's Track Athlete of the Year after taking home three gold medals as he took home first place honors in the 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash and the 4-x-400 meter relay. In the 60-meter dash, he ran a time of 6.91, while his 200-meter time was a then school record 22.26 and was the anchor leg on the 4-x-400 meter relay team that ran a time of 3:31.08.
 
As a sophomore in 2019, Ridenhour qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships during both the indoor and outdoor seasons as he ran in the 60-meter dash at the Indoor National Championships and then qualified in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes during the outdoor season and finished as the national runner-up in the 200-meter dash en route to earning All-American honors in that event.
 
Ridenhour is now the first-ever three-time All-American in track and field in Webster history and with one more season left in 2021, he should have a chance to add to those totals.