University of Southern Indiana junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) was the lone competitor for the Screaming Eagles in the final day of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
Grau’s first race of the day was the 1,500-meters, which the indoor mile National Champion qualified for after finishing eighth in the preliminaries. After beginning at the end of the pack, Grau burst through the field to take the top spot with just over 500-meters remaining before falling to eight as he crossed the finish line with a time of three minutes, 52.68 seconds.
Finishing in the top-eight, Grau received first team All-America honors to bring his season total to three. Grau was also an All-American as a part of the distance medley relay team and in the mile during the indoor season.
In the evening’s final individual event, Grau finished the 5,000-meters in 14:41.95. In the final 2,500-meters, Grau improved from 19th at a steady pace to finish 15th in the deep field.
As a team, the Eagles finished with one point courtesy of Grau’s 1,500-meter performance. The total was good enough for tie for 66th-place. St. Augustine’s University took the team crown with a total of 58 points
