University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field senior All-American Tyler Pence (Springfield, Illinois) has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Track Athlete of the Week following his performance at the Bellarmine Classic this past weekend.
Pence finished first in the 5,000 meters with an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time of 14 minutes, 8.98 seconds. His time currently ranks second in the GLVC and 13th, nationally.
The weekly honor is the first for Pence this year and the second of his outdoor career—he also earned GLVC Runner of the Week honors two times during his cross country career.
Pence joins fellow classmate Johnnie Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) in earning GLVC Track Athlete of the Week honors this year. Guy has earned a pair of GLVC Track Athlete of the Week accolades during the outdoor season after capturing three awards during the indoor campaign.
Despite Pence’s efforts this past weekend, the Screaming Eagles slipped two spots to No. 25 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Top 25 Computer Rankings.
In addition to Pence, Guy ranks second in the nation in the 5,000 meters, while juniors Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) and Josh Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 10,000 meters.
Junior Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana) is 26th in the 10,000 meters, while Broughton and Josh Guy and 30th and 40th, respectively, in the 5,000 meters.
USI returns to action Friday when it competes at the Hillsdale “Gina†Relays in Hillsdale, Michigan. Johnnie Guy also will be aiming for the school-record when he competes in the 10,000 meters at the Payton Jordan Invitational.
