Six Buffs advance to finals on day two of national meet

BROOKINGS, S.D. (March 6, 2020) – Junior Tim Thacker and sophomore Rasheem Brown ran the fastest semifinal times of the mile and 60-meter hurdles, respectively, as the Milligan College track & field team punched six more tickets to the finals of the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships Friday. Senior Katlyn Haas, sophomore Gabrielle Mardis, junior Nathan Baker and freshman Jake Crow advanced in the women's and men's 3000 meters.

In all, the Buffs will have nine individuals and one relay compete Saturday on the final day of the NAIA national championship event.

"This crew really stepped up today," Head Coach Chris Layne said. "To reach championship Saturday in nine of our 13 events is pretty impressive. The hard part is getting through the rounds, and we all know anything can happen in a national final."

CONTINUING TREND OF SUCCESS

Bekah Owen, Avery DeWolf, and the men's distance medley relay team of Sam Wehner, Ronan Philippot, Alex Windham and Baker started Thursday's semifinal events by all advancing to their finals with automatic qualifiers, and Thacker and Brown continued the trend Friday with automatic qualifiers themselves.

Thacker started the day with a win in heat two of the men's mile with a time of 4:16.11, the fastest among all qualifiers heading into Saturday's final. Brown followed soon after with the exact same effort, equaling his own NAIA national record of 7.81 to win heat one of the 60-meter hurdles.

Four Buffs in the 3k closed the day with qualifying marks. Haas and Mardis advanced on the women's side with new personal bests of 10:11.77 and 10:14.75, respectively. Baker and Crow followed on the men's side with qualifying times of 8:46.43 and 8:47.95.

"Tim and Rasheem were really composed today and did what was needed," Layne said. "The girls in the 3k had a tough task with Emily Kearney going for the national record. The 3k pack went out in 74 the first 400, so they really ran tough on the back half to get those qualifiers.

"It was a different story in the men's 3k as both of those were tactical. Baker's experience really paid off and that slow second best opened the door for Jake to get that last spot."

ROUNDING OUT THEIR INDOOR SEASON

Three Buffs closed out their indoor campaigns Friday in the semifinals. Senior Erica Stone and Wehner raced the prelims of the 1k and 3k, respectively, but came up short of qualifying for the final. Additionally, senior Hannah Bell, a national qualifier in the 3k, was forced out of the race due to injury.

Stone, a two-time indoor All-American, finished 13th overall nationally in the 1k in 3:03.72. Wehner finished out his individual campaign with a 19th-place finish in the 3k with a time of 9:11.30.

A member of the qualifying men's distance medley relay, Wehner will return for the DMR final Saturday when the Buffs conclude the national championship event with nine individuals plus the relay competing.