The men's track and field program sent a group of distance runners to the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University this weekend. The competitive meet hosted one AQ all time mark and two automatic qualifiers for the Saints.
Saturday
Ben Hardy was the lone qualifier for the Saints on Saturday night in the 3000m Steeplechase. In the fourth heat of the event, Hardy placed ninth with a time of 9:17 to notch his automatic qualifying mark.
Rob Lohr was the lone Saint in the 1500-meter run and showed out with his performance. In the unseeded section of the event, Lohr placed second overall with a time of 3:55.14. In the tightly packed AQ top five, Lohr now ranks third besting Stan Sidor (3:55.24), Adam Hoogewind (3:55.27) and
Will Finch (3:55.44).
Then in the unseeded section of the 5K,
Ethan Barker was AQ's top finisher with a time of 15:01. He placed third overall.
Connor Clemens and Matt Schieber were in the race and finished with time of 15:32 and 15:50.
The final event of the evening was the 10,000-meter run.
Connor Callahan crossed the line first for AQ at 31:50 after the 25 laps.
Andrew Ireland was shortly behind at 31:55.
Edward Frey completed the event in 32 minutes and 21 seconds.
Sunday
In the second of two events that featured AQ, the quartet of
Will Finch,
Caleb Hodgkinson,
Liam Kelly, and
Rob Lohr formed the men's 4x800 relay. The team would run splits of 1:57, 1:55, 1:56, and 1:53 to finish with a time of 7:42. AQ automatically qualifies for nationals with this time.
Earlier in the day, four Saints competed in the 800 Meter run. Hodgkinson was AQ's highest finisher in 25th with a time of 1:53.07. Finch was next in the crowded event taking 38th with a 1:53.73.
Will Westveer (1:57) and
Zander Masten (1:58) also competed for AQ in the mid distance race.
AQ competes locally next weekend at the Al Owens Classic in Allendale, Michigan. The meet begins on Friday, April 21 and takes place on Saturday, April 22.
