February 17, 2024

Marian Men's Track and Field Claims Fifth-Consecutive CL Indoor Championship

INDIANAPOLIS - Once again, the Crossroads League Championship trophy for men's track and field resides in Indianapolis, as the Marian men's program completed their fifth consecutive conference championship. The Knights fifth consecutive championship is the longest streak in Crossroads League history and the team's eighth consecutive league title, indoors and outdoors, as Marian broke their own meet record for team score.

Marian entered the day with 98.5 total points following their strong outing on Friday, and continued to score points on the day's first final event as Micah Williams, Gus Martinez, and Caleb Carter each placed in the 60m hurdle finals. Williams finished as the runner-up with a time of 8.48 seconds, while Martinez finished fourth and Carter took eighth. Will Osafo, Manny Manneh, and Armani Glass followed suit in the 60m finals and each placed the event, giving Marian three additional scorers. Osafo finished second with a time of 6.88 seconds, while Manneh finished fourth and Glass finished sixth.

Blake Hipkiss took a fifth place finish to lead Marian in the mile race, hitting an NAIA B standard with his PR in the event of 4:15.53. Benjamin Moster and Owen Pittman finished first and second in their respective heat of the mile race, and took the seventh and eighth overall times to help contribute to Marian's score. The heptathlon reached it's conclusion following the mile, with Felipe Mentz finishing third overall and AJ Wrenn taking fifth overall. Mentz recorded a final score of 4427, while Wrenn scored a 3107.

In the lone field events of the day for the men, Marian scored well in the shot put and triple jump, taking the title in both events. Jacob Netral claimed a victory in the shot put with a top distance of 17.21m, winning by over 0.5m as his teammate Christian Rios took the runner-up spot with a 16.69m distance. Kevaughn Dawn also hit an NAIA A standard joining his teammates, placing fourth with his mark of 16.07m. Isaiah Tipping would put the final bow on the event, placing fifth overall in the shot put. For the triple jump, Van Lian and Armani Glass finished first and second, with Lian's penultimate attempt moving him past Glass for the lead, as he won with a distance of 13.29m. Glass finished with a 13.25m distance.

The action would keep going on the track with Olivier Lifrange scoring a win in the 400m, hitting an NAIA A standard time of 48.44 seconds. Richard Dube and Eli Givens finished in the top-four, as the teammates clocked the respective third and fourth fastest times overall. Matthew Riehle highlighted Marian's efforts in the 800m with a fourth place finish, as the senior scored a time of 1:55.90. Andrew McDade kept the mid-distance group scoring with his eighth place finish in the 800m, and Pittman finished 11th overall. Tristan Trevino led Marian's efforts in the 1000m, as he hit an A standard time of 2:27.29 to finish second overall. Howard Hendricks scored a fourth place finish with his 2:31 time, and Robin Aguilar-Gonzalez finished eighth in the 1000m.

Lifrange would continue his strong day in the 200m, turning in another NAIA A standard with his second-place time of 21.60 seconds. Connor Maple finished fifth overall with a time of 22.20, and Michael Hunter finished outside the top-eight with a 10th place finish. The final individual event was the 3000m, with Hipkiss taking Marian's top finish with an 11th place time. Clark Chustz finished 15th and Benjamin Moster finished 17th.

Marian's championship outing concluded with the 4x400m relay, as Marian sprinted their way to a first place finish. The Knights group of Raif Miller, Richard Dube, Olivier Lifrange, and Eli Givens took a dominant approach to the meet, gaining distance on the field during Dube's leg to gain separation. Givens closed strong as the anchor leg, helping the group hit an NAIA A standard with a final time of 3:14.70.

The Knights ended the meet with a championship record 253.5 points, breaking their previous record by 37.5 points. Marian defeated second-place Mount Vernon Nazarene by 160 points, while Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan, and Spring Arbor rounded out the top-five.

Marian broke multiple school records on the final day, with Trevino setting a record in the 1000m and Mentz breaking his own record in the heptathlon. Lifrange tied his own school record in the 400m, and was one of two runners to break the meet record in the 200m. Trevino's time was a Crossroads League meet record in the 1000m, and the 4x400m relay broke the CL meet record by just under six seconds.

After the meet concluded, Olivier Lifrange was honored as the most valuable male athlete in the meet, scoring the most points over the course of the two days. Head coach Mike Holman was named the Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive year, and for the 13th time overall in his track and field coaching history on the men's side.