INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The postseason got off to a solid start for Grace's track and field teams.
The Lancers performed well at the 2023 Crossroads League Championships, hosted by Marian.
Grace's women finished in fourth place, tying its best finish ever, while the men finished fifth. The Lancers hit several NAIA standards over the course of the two-day championships
A day after winning the 4x800 relay, Grace's women also claimed the 4x400 title for the league on Friday. Anna Hulstedt, Tara Friesen, Olivia Adkins and Kylie Sauder won the race with a time of 3:56.08. Their time was an NAIA "B" standard.
Tanner Sallee grabbed a runner-up finish in the 800 with a stellar time of 1:53.23.
The women dominated their side of the 800 as well. Sauder posted a second-place time of 2:13.19 (good for NAIA "A" standard). She was followed by Heather Plastow in third place (2:18.21), Tara Friesen in fourth (2:18.30) and Morgan Welch in eighth (2:20.63).
Plastow went on to finish second in the 1,500 with an NAIA "B" time of 4:38.61, and Anna Hulstedt placed fifth (4:46.80).
In the 1,500, Grace's men earned points at three positions. Bryan Hernandez-Rios (3:54.00) and Dimitri Margaritidis (3:54.01) finished neck-and-neck for fourth and fifth place, and Korry Hamlin was just behind in seventh place (3:56.56).
Hernandez-Rios and Margaritidis repeated their placings in fourth and fifth for the 5,000 run, and Brandon Kleber was behind the duo in sixth place to score points for Grace.
Several freshmen scored points for the Lady Lancers. Adkins finished in fourth place in the 400 (59.27), Esther Cameron was eighth in the 5,000 (19:34.59), Madelyn Yoder was eighth in the 100 hurdles (16.30), and Karris Sigler was seventh in the 400 hurdles (1:11.43).
In the women's steeplechase, Katie Acker (11:38.94) and Kate Hornocker (12:39.02) were third and eighth respectively.
The men's 4x100 relay team of Ethan Cummins, Josh Pike, Kye Barrett and Michael Williams finished fourth with a time of 43.84 seconds. The women's side placed sixth with a finish of 51.02 (Yoder, Adkins, Zoe Huley, Malia Butler).
The men's 4x400 squad of Luke Smith, Brady Hunsberger, Maurice Macklin and Tanner Sallee placed seventh at 3:23.80.
Noah Zimmerman placed seventh in the triple jump (41-6), coupling with his seventh-place finish in the long jump on Thursday.
In the men's discus, Brock Lengacher finished sixth (149-10), while Zaryn Rumfelt was eighth (140-9).
Mackenzie DeLong earned an eighth-place finish in the shot put with her mark of 37-5.25, and Lanae Crowe was eighth in the discus (134-10).
Makayla Neal concluded her busy two days by placing fifth in the heptathlon with 3,074 points.
The Lancers will head to South Carolina next week to begin national competition. Grace will compete in the 2023 NCCAA Outdoor Championships in Columbia, S.C., beginning on Wednesday.
The season will wrap up at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Championships on May 24-26 at Indiana Wesleyan.
To see complete meet results, click here.
DAY ONE RECAP: Grace sets records to open CL meet
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace's track and field team began the Crossroads League Championships on Thursday.
The Lancers hit several school-record marks during the high-profile meet, hosted by Marian.
After the first day of competition, Grace's men and women both sit in fourth place in the team standings.
Grace's women's 4x800-meter relay team began the scoring events with a commanding win. Heather Plastow, Tara Friesen, Anna Hulstedt and Kylie Sauder cruised to a 14-second victory, breaking the tape in an NAIA "A" time of 9:01.44.
Their mark set a new Crossroads League meet record, and they beat their own school record from a year ago.
The men's 4x800 finished as the runners-up. Brady Hunsberger, Dimitri Margaritidis, Bryan Hernandez-Rios and Tanner Sallee posted a time of 7:30.39, setting a new school record in the process. It marked the second-fastest relay time in league meet history and hit the NAIA "A" standard (No. 2 time in the NAIA).
The running events concluded on Thursday with the 10,000 races. Mallory Hiatt placed fifth with her time of 38:48.15, and Madelyn Skidmore was seventh (41:26.83).
Justin Van Prooyen earned a point for the men with his eighth-place finish of 32:34.61.
In the throwing events, the men's javelin scored 11 points for Grace. The Lancers had a trio of finishers in the top seven, including fourth place from Ethan Brown (149-feet-2), fifth from Zaryn Rumfelt (148-8) and seventh from Clayton Martin (132-9).
Mackenzie DeLong nabbed third place on the women's side for the javelin with her launch of 113-7.
Emily McCreary placed fifth in the women's high jump (5-3).
Brock Lengacher scored points when he finished seventh in the hammer (145-feet-8), and Noah Zimmerman grabbed seventh place in the long jump (21-5.25).
Madelyn Yoder qualified through the prelim race of the 100 hurdles with her time of 16.37, and she will race in the finals on Friday.
Makayla Neal also sits in fifth place after competing in five events of the heptathlon.
Friday will have 22 finals in the running events as well as the shot put, discus and triple jumps finals. To follow live results on Friday, click here.
