After overcoming a hamstring injury during his junior season at Dubuque, former Rochelle Township High School track and field standout Colfay Pointer worked his way back to full health, closing out the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships as an All-American with a personal record of 46.97 seconds in the 400-meter dash.

Pointer continued to build his strength up entering his senior season, where his hard work has resulted in 14 top-3 finishes across nine indoor meets. Pointer’s indoor season culminated with a runner-up performance in the 400-meter dash at the American Rivers Indoor Track & Field Championships, where he qualified for the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships as the nation’s second-ranked athlete in the event.

Unfortunately, Pointer was unable to compete at the national championships, as the NCAA canceled the event and the remainder of its spring sports in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus. His final season with Dubuque may have been cut short, but Pointer said he’s continuing to weigh his options as he prepares to graduate this spring.

“I was shocked and I wish I would’ve known that my last race would have been before indoor nationals,” Pointer said. “My senior season was one of the biggest ‘don’t take anything for granted’ moments of my life. I started the season off running my fastest indoor times, and I ran the second-fastest 400 time in the nation, so I was disappointed that the remainder of my season was canceled. My 46-second 400 from junior year is one of my proudest achievements because I was hurt during the indoor season and I was not expecting to run that fast.”

Pointer opened his senior indoor season with three top-3 finishes at the Dubuque Championships, where he set his personal-best time of 6.60 seconds in the 55-meter dash. Pointer won two events at both the Jack Jennett Open and the UW-Platteville Invitational, and he brought home one title from the Sol Butler Classic, the Wartburg College Select and the 2020 Keck Division III Select. Three of his victories came in the 400-meter dash.

The NCAA Division III Administrative Committee announced on March 13 that student-athletes competing in spring sports will be granted an additional semester of eligibility. While this provision will allow Pointer to have one more shot at an outdoor season, he said his goals for now are to finish his undergraduate studies and enroll in a two-year graduate program where he can continue his education in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling.

“I think I improved my speed this year because of the work I put in over the summer,” Pointer said. “If I continue in track, I’d like to focus on my technique… I have been taking advantage of my downtime by looking into track programs. I had previously been accepted into the school counseling program at Barry University in Florida, but now I may be interested in using my extra year of outdoor eligibility since I’m unable to compete this year.”