Two University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field athletes finished with NCAA Division II provisional times at the Hillsdale “Gina” Relays over the weekend in Michigan.
Winning the 1,500-meter championship event, junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) defeated the field with a time of 3 minutes, 46.27 seconds. The finish was good enough for an NCAA II provisional, while Grau already has an NCAA II automatic qualifying time in the event. Grau ranks fourth in the NCAA II in the 1,500-meters during the outdoor season.
Grau also holds and an NCAA II automatic time in the 5,000-meters and ranks fifth in the NCAA II. The junior earned an NCAA II provisional time in the 800-meters earlier in the year and currently ranks 27th in the event.
Junior James Cecil (Owensboro, Kentucky) also picked up an NCAA II provisional time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with an eighth-place finish of 9:13:53. Cecil’s time is the 37th best in the NCAA II during this outdoor season. Senior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) also holds a provisional in the event and ranks ninth.
In the 5,000-meters championship event, senior Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana) finished less than a second from an NCAA II provisional in the 5,000-meters. Lutz finished 19th with a time of 14:39.27. In the event, Lutz is currently ranked 41st in the NCAA II.
Freshman Nathan Hall (Springfield, Missouri) was the top Screaming Eagles in the 5,000-meter open race, finishing eighth with a time of 14:48.96. Freshman Austin Nolan (Evansville, Indiana) and freshman Javan Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) finished back-to-back in 12th and 13th, respectively. Senior Cain Parker (Petersburg, Indiana) and sophomore Jesse Stanley (Chandler, Indiana) rounded out the Eagles’ runners in 16th and 22nd, respectively.
USI returns to action at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships hosted by Saint Joseph’s College in Rennselaer, Indiana. The meet begins this Thursday, April 27, and runs through Saturday, April 29. The “last chance” meet will be held May 11-12 in Naperville, Illinois, at the Dr. Keeler Invitational, while the NCAA II Outdoor Championships are May 25-27 in Bradenton, Florida.
