Marion, Ind. - The Marian men's track and field team had their most successful weekend of the 2022-23 indoor season Saturday afternoon, claiming five new NAIA standards at the Indiana Wesleyan Midwest Classic. In addition, three Knights set new PR's to improve overall seeding, with Chase Maxey and Isaiah Tipping further padding their school records. 

Marian got off to a strong day on the track, earning NAIA A standards with converted times in both the DMR and the 4x800M relay. The DMR group of Robin Aguilar-Gonzalez, Eli Givens, Howard Hendricks, and Joe Barrett finished second in the relay with a 10:18.97 actual time, eight seconds behind the victorious Indiana Wesleyan team. In the 4x800m relay, Barrett once again ran as he, Kenneth Hammell, Drew Thornton, and Owen Pittman ran a 7:54.97 actual time, finishing second behind Spring Arbor to hit the A standard.

Clark Chustz held the top finish for Marian in the 5000m with his 10th place finish, running a time of 15:37, and Adam Heitz finished 17th overall. Blake Hipkiss finished 15th overall in the 3000m clocking an 8:57 time, and in the mile Mitchell Hayward finished 13th overall with a time of 4:37. Hendricks had the top Marian effort in the 1000m with a seventh place effort, while Aguilar-Gonzalez finished ninth and Hammell took 15th. 

The Knights owned the 60m finals, getting seven runners in the eight-man final. Tyler Thomas scorched the finals with a 6.84 second race, winning the event with an NAIA A standard time, sending the senior back to the NAIA Championships for the second time in his indoor career. Armani Glass finished second in 6.95 seconds, with Connor Maple and Will Osafo going third and fourth. Manny Manneh finished fifth, Olivier Lifrange finished sixth, and Otto De St Jeor finished seventh to round out Marian's 60m efforts, with each sprinter going sub 7.00 seconds.

De St Jeor and Lifrange kept their speed on display in the 200m, placing first and second with new season best times. De St Jeor's 22.08 second time won the race, and with adjustments moved to No. 10 in the NAIA this season, while Lifrange's runner-up 22.27 second actual time improved his mark in the NAIA standings. Maple placed third, with Givens finishing seventh, Manneh placing eighth, and Thomas placing ninth in the 200m. Murray Ross-Harman led Marian running in the 400m as he placed fourth with a 52.66 second time.

The Knight picked up another NAIA A standard in the 600m, as Maksims Sincukovs finished as the runner-up with a 1:21.53 actual time. Sincukovs A standard is the first in his career, seeding as 10th overall in the NAIA. Thornton finished fourth in the 600m, with Pittman placing sixth overall. The final individual result on the track came with Gus Martinez placing fourth in the finals of the 60m hurdles, clocking an 8.82 second time.

Marian's long jump efforts were led by Chase Maxey, who finished second with a 6.64m jump, 0.05m ahead of Caden Wildey's third place finish. Eli Felton placed fourth in the long jump at 6.47m to close the top-four. Maxey's big weekend continued as he finished as the runner-up in the triple jump, adding to his school record with a 14.12m jump. The senior's new mark was good for an NAIA B standard, as he returns to the NAIA Championships for the third time in his career. Felton would finish third in the triple jump, with Brendan Oleksak placing fifth overall.

Jordan Pohl finished seventh in the high jump with a 1.86m height, with teammate Van Lian placing eight at 1.76m. Brendan Endres finished fifth in the pole vault clearing 4.50m, while Keagan La Belle finished in a tie for seventh clearing 4.35m.

Isaiah Tipping headlined the throwers as he continued his dominant season, breaking his school record in the weight throw once again setting a new PR of 19.55m. Tipping's mark in his victory gives him the second best throw in the NAIA this season. Tipping also placed ninth in the shot put, an event that was won by teammate Christian Rios with a distance of 16.74m. Rios would finish third in the weight throw, and Jacob Netral finished as the runner-up in the shot put. Kevaughn Dawn finished eighth in the shot put, and Sam Runholt set a new PR with a 16th place effort in the weight throw. 

The meet concluded with the 4x400m relay, with Marian placing first and second in the race. The A team of Givens, Sincukovs, Lifrange, and De St Jeor won with a 3:23 time, while the B team of Martinez, Ross-Harman, Pittman, and Mason Piatt finished second. 

The Knights are next scheduled to compete at the Crossroads League Championships on February 17 and 18, with Indiana Wesleyan serving as the host. 

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