INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian men's track and field began their indoor track and field season with a bang on Saturday, as the Knights competed in the UIndy Winter Break Meet. Marian's throwers headlined the event as the Knights earned six total NAIA Standards in the opening meet, while breaking two school records in the throws.
The Knights were well represented in the 60m dash, taking five of the eight spots in the finals. Freshman Will Osafo led Marian in the 60m with a third place finish as he clocked a 7.02 time in the race, with Myles Sisco on his tail running a 7.05 time. Kanye Wright clocked a 7.14 time in the 60, taking sixth place in his collegiate debut. Manny Manneh and Olivier Lifrange also qualfied in the 60m finals but did not run, as the pair turned in a respective 7.08 and 7.02 time in the prelims. In total 13 Knights ran in the 60m, with 11 placing 18th or better in the final standings.
Marian flooded the field in 200m and had six runners finish in the top-10, with rookie Connor Maple turning in a first place time of 22.76 seconds in his collegiate debut. Lifrange finished second with a 22.90 time, and freshman Eli Givens turned in a 23.26 time good for fourth. Michael Hunter and Nic Novotny finished seventh and eighth, respectively, and Murray Ross-Harman finished 10th.
Marian's first standard on the track came from Otto De St Jeor in the 400m, as he hit the B standard with a 49.81 time. De St Jeor's time is the eighth fastest time so far this season after being converted to a time on a 300m track. Matthew Riehle finished second in the 400m with a 50.59 second time, and Givens finished fifth with a 51.71 time. Ross-Harmon turned in the sixth best time, Mason Piatt finished eighth, and AJ Wrenn finished 13th.
In the 800m Drew Thornton led Marian as the senior finished as the runner-up with a 1:55.85 time. Thornton's adjusted time to a 300m track was good for the NAIA A standard, with his adjusted time showing as fourth fastest in the NAIA. Owen Pittman finished third with a 1:57.06 time, and Robin Aguilar-Gonzalez made his Marian running debut with a fifth place time in the 800m. Thomas Richards finished fourth overall in the mile race with a time of 4:36, and Kenneth Hammell finished eighth with a 4:50 time, with Hammell later running a 2:12 in the 800m. Ben Moster finished 13th in the mile. Mitchell Hayward finished with a 9:59 time in the 3000m race.
Marian had four of the eight spots in the 60m hurdle finals, with freshman Gus Martinez finishing third with an 8.70 time. Michael Schnurr was fourth in the finals with a 9.02 time, and Wrenn finished seventh in 9.84 seconds. Gregory Hueston clocked a 9.93 second time in his eighth place hurdle finish.
The Knights won the 4x400m relay as the team of Thornton, Pittman, Givens, and Lifrange clocked a 3:30.21 time, while the B relay of Martinez, Aguilar-Gonzalez, Hammell, and Michael Hunter ran a 3:34 time. The Marian C team finished fourth, consisting of Piatt, Schnurr, Hueston, and Ross-Harman.
In field events, Marian earned a fourth place finish from Jordan Pohl in the high jump as he cleared 1.80m, while Van Lian took ninth as he cleared 1.75m. Freshman Brenden Endres finished fourth in the pole vault as he cleared 4.45m, and Evan Haag finished 10th clearing 3.85m. Caden Wildey won the long jump in his collegiate debut as he hit 6.89m, while Phol finished as the runner-up with a 6.61m leap. Lian finished eighth with a 6.15m distance, and Brendan Oleksak finished ninth with a 6.04m leap. Qujuan Cannon finished 10th in the long jump. Oleksak later finished fourth in the triple jump with a 12.98m jump, while Lian, Phol, and Cannon finished sixth through eighth.
Marian's throwing events stole the headlines in the meet as they placed three in the top-five, with Isaiah Tipping showing out in his season opener. The senior had each of his five successful throws hit 18m or longer, as he won the event with an 18.92m distance. Tipping's best throw allowed him to break his own school record, and hit the NAIA A standard. Christian Rios also hit the NAIA B standard in the weight throw, setting a PR with a 16.93m effort. Marco Keys finished fifth with a 16.20m in his debut in the weight throw.
The shot put squad was led by Jacob Netral, who broke the Marian school record in the event with a 16.88m throw. Netral's shot put mark hit the NAIA A standard, as he and Rios, who finished third with a PR of 16.39m, each qualified for the NAIA Championships. Tipping finished seventh in the shot put, and Kevaughn Dawn took 12th. Steely Munoz finished 14th in the shot put.
Marian will return to action after winter break, competing at Trine University on January 14.
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