Keene State Indoor Track & Field competed in the Tufts National Qualifying Meet on Saturday, March 7. The Owls made strides in both men’s and women’s competitions in their last chance before selection for the NCAA. Selected athletes for the Division III National Championship on Sunday, March 8, included two Owls: Junior Tyler Bolaske and senior Molly Lu McKellar.
The Owls’ women’s 4x400m relay team, consisting of junior Mia Cruz, Sophomore Keely Giordano, sophomore Caroline Cooper and first-year Elle MacDonald achieved a season-best mark of 3:59.58. The time was only half a second slower than the 3:59.10 school record set in 2005.
The men’s distance medley relay team with Bolaske, junior Griffin Urnezis, junior Keith O’Donnell and sophomore Ethan Vitello set their best mark all season with a time of 10:09.45. The time is 39th in the nation.
Senior Aidan Law earned fourth place in the long jump with a distance of 6.67 meters. Law held onto a 7.19-meter mark from early December. The senior suffered an injury during the meet and was unable to compete in the other events he was listed for.
On Sunday, March 8, Bolaske was selected to compete in the DIII national championships in the one-mile run, and McKellar was selected to compete in the pentathlon. Bolaske was awarded the 16th seed and McKellar was awarded the 20th seed in their respective events. In the pentathlon, McKellar posted a personal best 3,471 points on Feb. 27. The mark, good for 20th best in the nation, positioned McKellar well to qualify for the Division III national championships. Bolaske’s converted mile time of 4:07.84 set at the Little East championships was good for 30th in the nation.
The two athletes will compete in the NCAA Championship on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14 in Birmingham, Ala.
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
fleblanc@kscequinox.com
