MARION, Ind. - The 2023 Grace's track and field team kicked off competition at the 2023 NAIA National Outdoor Championships on Wednesday.

The three-day meet saw the Lancers compete in four preliminary races and one final on the opening day of national championships.

Heather Plastow began Grace's participation with an impressive showing in the 1,500-meter run. During her semifinal run, she ran the third-fastest time at 4:36.63; she will compete in the 1,500 finals on Friday at 2 p.m.

Plastow also had a part in a sensational 4x800 relay for Grace later on Wednesday evening. Tara Friesen, Anna Hulstedt, Plastow and Kylie Sauder finished the semifinal with the fastest time in the field. Their finish of 9:01.54 was just one-tenth of a second off the school record and was three seconds faster than the next-closest competitor.

The relay team will race in the finals on Thursday at 6:10 p.m.

The men's 1,500 race had three Lancers represented. The trio finished in a pack from 15th to 17th, including Dimitri Margaritidis (3:56.28), Korry Hamlin (3:57.09) and Bryan Hernandez-Rios (3:57.25).

The men's 4x800 relay team of Brady Hunsberger, Logan Rufenacht, Margaritidis and Tanner Sallee placed 12th in the nation with a race of 7:39.29.

Mallory Hiatt also raced in the 10,000. She placed 26th in the nation with a time of 38:40.70.

Grace will compete in five races tomorrow, including semifinals for the men's and women's 800, men's 5,000 and women's 4x400 as well as the women's 4x800 finals.