Mankato, MN – The Indian Hills Men's Track & Field squad, fresh off its No. 3 national ranking, placed second overall at the Mark Shuck Open over the weekend. The Warriors scored 119 points to finish behind host Minnesota State University.
The Warriors, who were announced as the No. 3 team in the nation by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association earlier in the week, earned three first-place finishes at the two-day meet to go along with a school record. The Warriors also earned a national qualifier.
Freshman Dean Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica/Calabar) took home top honors in the men's 500-meter dash with a first-place time of 1:07.39. Clarke also ran an 8.40 in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles to place sixth overall in the event.
The Warriors earned three of the top four spots in the men's 200-meter dash, led by Khalid Hornsby's (Greenbelt, MD/Eleanor Roosevelt) 22.30. Woyn Chatman (Little Rock, AR/Little Rock Central) placed second overall at 22:34 and D'eric Smith (Ankeny, IA/Ankeny Centennial) clocked in at No. 4 at 22:46.
The men's 4x400-meter relay squad placed first on Saturday with a time of 3:21.79. The quartet featured the Warriors' top sprinters in Justin Walden (Miami, FL/North Miami), Clarke, Damoy Allen (Utica, NY/Utica Proctor) and Aurel Tchanbi (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire/College Heleis) to win by nearly a second.
The men's distance medley relay set a school record and earned a national qualifying time with a mark of 10:22.01. Aniey Akok (Ames, IA/Ames), Kendrick Winfield, Rivaldo Marshall (Kingston, Jamaica/Calabar), and Nick O'Connor (Tiffin, IA/Clear Creek Amana) recorded the new program standard.
O'Connor earned an individual national qualifying mark as well in the men's mile. O'Connor clocked in with an adjusted time of 4:19 to place eighth overall in the event.
As has been the story all season for the Warriors, the men's sprinters put together another impressive showing in the 60-meter dash as Indian Hills claimed four of the top eight spots, led by Isiah Thomas' (Milwaukee, WI/Destiny) second-place finish at 6.81. Tchanbi placed third at 6.88 followed by Winfield and Travon Chance (San Antonio, TX/Warren).
Isaac Bryant (Grinnell, IA/Grinnell-Newburg) and Chris Metz (Freeport, IL/Freeport) placed seventh and eighth, respectively in the men's 5k event. Bryant finished with a time of 15:48.08 and Metz clocked in at 16:03.00, the third and fourth fastest times in school history.
Dorian Craven (Dallas, TX/Duncanville) placed second overall with a time of 1:23.14 in the men's 600-meter dash as the Warriors earned three of the top-five spots. Roneldo Rock (St. Joseph, Barbados / Grantley Adams Memorial) posted a 1:23.46 to finish third and Crosby placed fifth at 1:24.47.
Walden earned a second-place finish in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 50.40 followed by Sydney Peal's (Crofton, MD/Bullis) third-place finish at 50.68.
The Warriors head to the Bearcat Open in Maryville, MO on Feb. 4.
Mark Schuck Open by the numbers…
— Indian Hills XC/TF (@IHCCrunning) January 30, 2022
1️⃣2️⃣ Top 3 Finishes
7️⃣ IHCC Top 5 All-Time Performances
2️⃣ National Qualifiers
1️⃣ School Record pic.twitter.com/jMGdzrTTAY
