DMR Team Races to Podium Finish
by Shawn Chambers Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant University of Southern Indiana
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Four University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field runners earned All-America honors with a fourth-place showing in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) had the Screaming Eagles ahead of the field after the first leg of the race by over two seconds. His split was 2 minutes, 54.96 seconds.
Sophomore Tyler Kruse (Indianapolis, Indiana) managed to finish his portion of the relay despite pulling his hamstring less than 80-meters into his leg. Without Kruse’s heroics in finishing, the Eagles would have been unable to finish the event.
Freshman Javan Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) managed to keep the Eagles on pace for senior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) to make up ground on the final portion of the event. The senior moved the Eagles from seventh to fourth in the final leg.
The USI finish marks the first time program history that a relay team has earned All-America honors in the indoor season. The total number of individuals to receive All-American nods during the indoor season climbs to 13, with the total number of awards reaching 22.
With USI tied for 18th in the team standings heading into the final day of the NCAA II Championships, Broughton and Grau look to move the Eagles up the standings with their performances in the 3,000-meters and the mile.
Grau finished second in his preliminary heat on Thursday to earn the second-fastest preliminary time in the mile. His time of 4:05.40 was Grau’s best finish in the event in 2017. The finals will take place tomorrow at 3:25 p.m.
Broughton is seeded eighth in the 3,000-meters. The senior recorded his season-best time at the GVSU Big Meet the second weekend in February, finishing in 9:47.61.
