Mount Union's men's 4x400 meter relay team ran the top qualifying time and freshman Alexianna Johnson (Dover) earned All-American honors in the long jump to headline the Purple Raiders first day at the 2018 NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships Thursday at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The 4x400 relay team of James Roth (Massillon Perry), Tyler Neff (Fairless), Clark Etzler (Elida) and AJ Digby (Tontogany / Otsego), which won the men's 4x400 meter title at both last year's outdoor championship and this year's indoor championships, ran a season-best time of 3:10.25 and took the top spot in qualifying.
Johnson, who was the Ohio Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Meet at last month's conference outdoor championships, posted a mark of 18-feet, 8-inches, on her first jump which was enough to secure eighth place and All-American honors.
The men's 4x100 meter relay team of Darian Littlejohn (Fulton, Md. / Resivoir), Josh Weber (Wadsworth), Malik Britt (Bossier City, La. / Airplane) and Digby made the finals after placing fifth in qualifying with a time of 47.45.
Johnson also ran a leg on the women's 4x100 meter relay team with Katie Goedecke (Cuyahoga Falls / Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary), Steph Donley (Carrollton) and Rachael Adams (Louisville / St. Thomas Aquinas) came in 10th with a time of 47.45 and missed making the finals by 0.14.
Mount Union will also have Matt Keim (Tusky Valley) competing in the men's pole vault on Saturday. Keim is seeded third in the pole vault. He competed in the pole vault at the outdoor championships a year ago and was second in the nation in the event at the indoor championships earlier this year.
* Andra Lehotay (Sandy Valley) and Sarah Berger had a strong opening day of the 2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships as both qualified for the 1,500-meter run. The All-American Walsh duo will have a day off tomorrow as that race takes place on Saturday afternoon.
Lehotay turned in the top time during prelims with a 4:28.23 and finished third in her heat, while Berger qualified by winning her heat with a time of 4:29.97. The pace of Berger's opening heat was slower than the second, which is why her time was near the bottom of the field of qualifiers, but her race was never in doubt.
The top four from each heat automatically qualified for the finals while the next four best times from either heat also advanced to the finals. Those four wild card qualifiers all came from the second heat.
With tomorrow off, Berger and Lehotay will highlight the final day of events for Walsh at the championships. Both race in the 1,500 at 3:55 p.m. Saturday. Berger will also run in the 5,000 meter in the penultimate women's event at 6:35.
* Kent State built what looked like a commanding 8-1 lead in its first Mid-American Conference Tournament game, but had to hold on for dear life as Central Michigan's five-run ninth gave the Flashes quite the scare.
Mason Mamarella (Dover) went 1 for 2 with two walks and two runs scored.
With the win, Kent State advances to a Friday showdown with either Miami or Ball State in the winner's bracket final. It is also in essence a tournament semi-final with the winner advancing to the title game. The winner would then have to be defeated twice by a team from the play-back bracket.
Game time is slated for 6 p.m.