Mortimer, Henson and Baldy qualify for NAIA National Championships at St. Patrick's Half Marathon

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 20, 2022) – A trio of Buffs punched their tickets to the 2022 NAIA National Championships in the marathon as five men's outdoor track athletes recorded top-10 finishes at the St. Patrick's Music City Half Marathon on Saturday.

Alex Mortimer was the top men's finisher at the half marathon, completing the 13.1 mile trek in 1:11:18. Evan Henson was the runner-up in 1:12:03 and Eli Baldy finished fifth in 1:14:29.

Graydon Hull took seventh (1:19:00) and Eli Hornbuckle finished ninth (1:23:24).

Mortimer and Henson logged NAIA "A" standards and Baldy finished with a national qualifying time. Mortimer was an All-American in the marathon last year with a fourth-place national finish. Baldy finished 11th and Henson was 13th at last year's national championship marathon.

"Getting these guys qualified was a little bit of a fluid situation and they just stayed patient and went with it," said head coach Chris Layne. "Alex and Evan are in the shape of their life right now and Eli B. has been trending in the right direction - they did this off more track work than anything so we're excited to see what they do in another 8 weeks with a solid build-up."

The NAIA national championship race in the marathon is slated for May 27 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.