PITTSBURG, Kan.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Track & Field junior All-American Titus Winders (Mansfield, Indiana) can add a new title to his name: NATIONAL CHAMPION. Winders became the fifth men’s runner in program history to claim a national championship Friday evening when he finished first in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, obliterating the school, track and meet records in the process as he crossed the finish line in 13 minutes, 38.92 seconds.
Winders was strategic throughout the 16-competitor race as he fell back as far as 14th midway through the run. However, he slowly began to pick up ground throughout the final 2,400 meters. He moved into ninth-place, then eighth before slipping to 10th for a brief moment. From the 3,500-meter mark to the 3,800-meter mark, Winders jumped five spots to fifth, where he began to pick opponents off one-by-one.
With 900 meters to go, Winders was in fourth. Three-hundred meters later, he was in third.
Then came his big moment. He moved into second and with 300 meters left in the race, following a 44.75-second split, Winders had claimed the poll position. He closed the final 300-meters in 43.59 seconds as he out-kicked Colorado School of Mines freshman Dillon Powell for a 3.66-second victory and USI’s 11th combined individual national championship (men and women).
In addition to Winders, USI freshman Cameron Hough (Only, Illinois) and senior Jennifer Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) competed in the women’s 5,000 meters. Hough finished 16th out of 19 runners with a time of 17:11.69, while Comastri crossed the finish line in 18th-place with a time of 17:22.69.
Winders closes USI’s indoor season Saturday when he competes in the 3,000 meters. The race is slated to begin at 7:05 p.m.
