BROOKINGS, SD – A sensational performance in the 4x400 meter relay headlined a strong day for the University of Mary men's indoor track & field team at South Dakota State University's Jim Emmerich Alumni Invite.
Racing for the third time this season and the first time outside of their home track, the Marauders quartet of
Aleix Garbajosa,
Jorgen Paulson,
Akil Howell and
Raheem Taitt-Best combined for a time of 3:17.29. Their time was an NCAA Division II qualifying effort that ranks 21
st in the country.
The Marauders placed third overall in the event and was the lone NCAA Division II team in the top nine of a field dominated by NCAA Division I programs.
Paulson and
Brendon Hoyte also placed in the top eight of the 60 meter dash. Paulson finished 6
th in the finals with a time of 6.94 seconds. Hoyte placed 8
th in the finals after recording a time of 6.90 seconds in the preliminaries. They were the only NCAA D2 runners to earn a spot in the finals.
Taitt-Best blazed his way to fourth place in the 400 finals with a mark of 48.69 seconds. The best individual finish of the day for UMary, Taitt-Best just missed the NCAA qualifying standards by .10 seconds. Howell finished 10th overall at 49.77 seconds. They were the only two NCAA D2 runners in the top 12.
In addition to his work on the 4x400, Garbajosa broke the school record in the 800 meter run. He finished 6
th in the 800 with a time of 1:52.98 and missed the NCAA qualifying standard by .25 seconds. The old mark was 1:53.49 by Teegan Olson in 2018,
Several other Marauders posted top 10 finishes for the Marauders:
- Logan Barnes cleared 1.95 meter in the high jump to place 9th
- Dillan Kovash placed 10th in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 4.35 meters
- Logan Wentz was 10th in the triple jump (12.50 meters)
The Marauders finished 7
th in the team standings out of 17 teams with 18 points. UMary was the top NCAA D2 finisher.
UMary next competes at the UND Open in Grand Forks, ND, on Saturday, January 28.
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