INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace's track and field team produced a handful of additional NAIA qualifiers during the final day of the indoor championships.

Grace concluded the two-day tournament by placing sixth as a team for men and women.

The Lancers claimed the 800 titles in both races. Logan Rufenacht won the men's race with an NAIA "B" time of 1:54.75.

Kylie Sauder won the women's 800 with her race of 2:18.61. Tara Friesen was not far behind with a third-place finish (2:19.08).

Brandon Kleber hit his second qualifier of the weekend. After hitting the standard in the 5,000-meter race yesterday, Kleber hit the NAIA "B" standard in the 3,000 with his fifth-place time of 8:34.80.

Anna Hulstedt ran a 3:01.76 in the 1,000 for another NAIA "B" standard. Morgan Welch placed eighth in the same race (3:01.76).

Dimitri Margaritidis hit an "A" standard in the 1,000; he finished third in the race in a time of 2:28.46.

Emily McCreary also tied the school record in the high jump; she leaped 5-feet-3 to place sixth in the event.

Grace had several others place on Saturday. Mick Wright was seventh in the 60 dash (7.06). In the 200, Wright was eighth (22.70) while Daniel Stoll was fourth (22.08).

Noah Zimmerman gabbed fourth in the triple jump at 42-feet-9, and Brock Lengacher was seventh in the shot put (46-8.75).

The men's 4x400 relay team of Ethan Cummins, Stoll, Caleb Nichols and Trent Skaggs finished sixth at 3:28.25.

In the women's 3,000, Esther Cameron ended in sixth at 10:25.06, and Mallory Hiatt was two spots behind at 10:40.12.

Additionally, Mackenzie Parker (shot put) and Lanae Crowe (weight throw) each grabbed a ninth-place finish.

The Lancers will head to the NAIA Indoor National Championships, beginning Feb. 29 in Brookings, S.D.

DAY ONE RECAP

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Grace's track and field teams performed well at the opening day of the 2024 Crossroads League Indoor Championships.

After the first day, Grace's men and women both sat in fourth place.

The meet was held at the newly repurposed Fall Creek Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Grace's 4x800-meter relay teams continued their strong seasons. The men's foursome of Luis Loera, Dimitri Margaritidis, Brady Hunsberger and Logan Rufenacht won the league title. Their time of 7:42.28 broke their own meet record and hit the NAIA "A" standard in the process.

The women's 4x800 relay team of Morgan Welch, Tara Friesen, Anna Hulstedt and Kylie Sauder placed second with another NAIA "A" time of 9:16.57.

Brandon Kleber placed fifth in the 5,000 out of 22 runners, hitting an NAIA "B" mark at 14:49.09.

In the women's 5,000, Grace had three runners earn points. Mallory Hiatt was third at 18:20.35, and Katie Acker (18:49.11) and Madelyn Skidmore (18:50.17) were fifth and sixth respectively.

In the jumps, Noah Zimmerman grabbed third in the long jump when he cleared 21-feet-10.75, and Justin Farris was sixth in the high jump (5-11.5). Breanna Hyde was eighth in the long jump (17-4.25).

The women's distance medley relay team posted a sixth-place finish at 12:44.69 (Tame Baylis, Paula Fernandez, Cadence Manning, Esther Cameron), and the men's DMR team was seventh at 10:40.49 (Carson Martin, Kevin Zehr, Dakota Ames, Carter Clear).

Brock Lengacher earned eighth in the weight throw (51-5), and Makayla Neal produced a seventh-place nod in the pentathlon with 2,343 points.

Freshman Caleb Nichols earned Grace points in the 600 dash, placing sixth with a time of 1:24.30.

Grace will conclude the league championships on Saturday. The men sit fourth with 28.5 points, and the women are fourth with 27 points.

MEET RESULTS