MARION, Ind. - Grace's track and field teams wrapped up the 2023 Crossroads League Indoor Championships with several more school records and national qualifiers.

Overall, the women finished the meet in fourth place with the men's squad grabbing fifth.

Bryan Hernandez-Rios starred for Grace all weekend long. He was named the Crossroads League Men's Runner of the Meet after helping win two relays (4x800, distance medley relay) as well as the individual 3,000.

Heather Plastow had two school record performances on Saturday. She smashed her own record in the mile with an NAIA "A" time of 5:00.58, which placed second in the race. Addison Grady also placed eighth in the mile (5:29.18).

Plastow went on to claim the 1,000-meter run title. She broke the tape in a school record time of 3:00.07, which also hit the NAIA "A" standard. Anna Hulstedt grabbed silver in the race with a "B" time of 3:02.21.

Carmen Trier also clocked a new record with a gritty performance in the 3,000. She set a PR by nearly 30 seconds, hitting the NAIA "A" mark with a race of 10:24.50.

Kylie Sauder took home gold in the 800, winning the race in an NAIA "A" time of 2:16.38.

Additionally, the women's 4x400 relay team of Tara Friesen, Zoe Huley, Hulstedt and Sauder posted a third-place time of 4:07.49.

Olivia Adkins earned points for Grace with her seventh-place showing in the 400 (1:00.62).

The women's throwing events were highlighted by Mackenzie DeLong, who finished sixth in the shot put with a toss of 40-feet-9.5. Lanae Crowe (34-4.25) was 16th in the event.

On the men's side, Grace had two runner-up finishes in the middle distance. Tanner Sallee hit the NAIA "A" standard in the 800 when he crossed the finish line in 1:53.01. His time was the second-fastest indoor 800 in league meet history.

Dimitri Margaritidis was also runner-up in the 1,000. He also hit the "A" standard with his time of 2:29.57.

The men's mile saw Logan Rufenacht meet the "B" standard and grab fifth place (4:19.71).

Bryan Hernandez-Rios claimed the title in the 3,000 when he finished his race in 8:34.40, an NAIA "A" standard.

Freshman Ethan Cummins placed 11th in both the 60 dash (7.16) and the 200 (23.49).

Cummins teamed up with Margaritidis, Logan Rufenacht, Margaritidis and Sallee to finish sixth (3:29.55). Zaryn Rumfelt (47-9.25) earned a seventh-place finish in the shot put.

To see complete meet results, click here.

The Lancers have one indoor meet remaining - the 2023 NAIA Indoor National Championships. The three-day will be held on March 2-4 in Brookings, S.D.
 

DAY ONE RECAP

MARION, Ind. - Grace's track and field team kicked off the 2023 Crossroads League Indoor Championships in style.

The relay crews stole the spotlight, making history in the meet.

Grace swept all four relays on Friday, winning the men's and women's 4x800-meter relays and the men's and women's distance medley relay. It marks the first time that one league school has won all four relays in the same meet.

The women's 4x800 squad of Anna Hulstedt, Tara Friesen, Heather Plastow and Kylie Sauder beat their own school record with a time of 9:22.94. They beat their closest competitors by 10 seconds, and their time is currently the second-fastest mark in the NAIA. Additionally, their time set the conference record at the indoor championships.

The women's DMR ended the opening day with another impressive win. Hulstedt, Sauder and Plastow teamed up with Olivia Adkins for a time of 12:04.98, winning the race by six seconds. Their time ranks No. 5 in the NAIA this year and broke another school record.

The men's 4x800 foursome of Bryan Hernandez-Rios, Dimitri Margaritidis, Tanner Sallee and Logan Rufenacht broke the tape in 7:48.14.

The foursome repeated top honors in the DMR, winning the race with a time of 10:11.78.

The women's 5,000 saw Grace earn points at the three positions. Carmen Trier hit the NAIA "A" standard with her fourth-place showing of 18:16.83. Katie Acker (18:39.16) finished seventh, and Mallory Hiatt (18:41.74) was eighth.

Friesen also nabbed eighth place in the 600 with a time of 1:43.96.

On the men's side, Brandon Kleber finished sixth in the 5,000 when he crossed the finish line in 15:15.07. Noah Zimmerman was also sixth in the long jump with a leap of 21-feet-9.5.

To see meet results, click here.

Grace will conclude the league championships on Saturday. After Friday's conclusion, Grace's women had 29 points to sit in third place, and the men's squad had 26 points for fifth place.