Relays Light Up The Track at Final Qualifier
Thursday was the final day of qualifying for the NCAA Championships and the relays step up to the plate to punch their tickets into the national meet. The top-15 relay times qualify to the NCAA Championships and going into the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier none of the Pioneer relays had a guaranteed spot at the national meet.
La CROSSE, Wis. – Thursday was the final day of qualifying for the NCAA Championships and the relays stepped up to the plate to punch their tickets into the national meet. The top-15 relay times qualify to the NCAA Championships. Going into the UW-La Crosse Final Qualifier none of the Pioneer relays had a guaranteed spot at the national meet.
The men's 4x100m relay began the day by dropping a half second off their previous best running 41.25. The foursome of Mitch Dowell, Dan Arnold, Brandon Navin and Wyatt Thompson finished second but catapulted themselves into the 8th spot on the national rankings.
The women's 4x400m were the next to surprise as the lady Pioneers dropped five seconds from their previous best by running 3:48.54. Amber Williams led off the Pioneers and handed off to Bri Iwans. Iwans passed the baton to Amanda Milne and Devan Montgomery closed for a fifth place finish. The Pioneers moved into the 9th spot on the national rankings.
The men's 4x400m closed the meet with a new school record of 3:13.27. Alec Burcham, Adam Lange, Paul Rapp and Wyatt Thompson broke the 5-year old record to put themselves in the No. 10 spot on the national rankings.
National Qualifiers will be announced Saturday at 9am on Deltatiming.com.