University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field earned three individual titles at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Championships over the weekend. The Screaming Eagles scored eight times at the event, which was hosted by the University of Indianapolis, en route to a seventh-place finish.
After setting the GLVC record at the indoor meet a year ago, the Screaming Eagles broke their own GLVC record taking the title in the distance medley relay Saturday evening. Junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany), sophomore Tyler Kruse (Fort Branch, Indiana), Javan Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee), and Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) teamed up to finish in nine minutes, 58.22 seconds.
Grau and Broughton both went on to earn individual victories on Sunday afternoon in the mile and 3,000-meters, respectively. Grau, already holding a provisional in the mile, paced the field with a finishing time of 4:13.94. Broughton, also holding a provisional in the 3,000-meters, won the event with a time of 8:32.38.
Two more scored for the Eagles in the final distance event. Senior Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana) earned his first NCAA II provisional time of the year with a finish of 14:52.27 in the 5,000-meters. The time was good enough for third while junior James Cecil (Owensboro, Kentucky) also scored, finishing seventh. Freshman Austin Nolan (Evansville, Indiana) finished tenth in the event.
Sophomore Tyler Kruse (Fort Branch, Indiana) scored in the 800-meter run taking the eighth spot. Kruse finished in 1:57.58, while fellow sophomore Almustapha Silvester (Indianapolis, Indiana) had a career-best time in the event of 1:58.29 to finish 10th.
USI competed in the 4×400-meter relay for the first time this year with the team of Kruse, Grau, Silvester, and Broughton. A time of 3:29,20 earned the team a seventh-place finish.
Senior Jalen Madison (Washington, Indiana) was the top thrower finishing ninth in the weight throw. His second best toss of the year, Madison best throw landed at 51 feet, 3.00 inches.
Lewis University earned the team crown for the fourth-consecutive season with a total of 115 points. The University of Indianapolis and Missouri University of Science & Technology finished second and third with 94 and 92 points, respectively. USI fell 21 points shy of sixth-place, Saint Joseph’s College.
The Eagles will have to wait to find out who advances to the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, which are March 10-11 in Birmingham, Alabama. USI has earned NCAA II provisional times in 4 separate events, including Broughton and Grau in the mile and 3,000-meters, Lutz in the 5,000-meters, and the distance medley relay team.
