Virginia Beach, Virginia — Adams State turned in a strong opening day at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, collecting six First Team All-American honors and two podium finishes on Friday.
The highlight of the day came in the women's 5,000 meters, where Tristan Spence delivered a runner-up performance, crossing the line in 16:16.89 to earn First Team All-American honors.
The Grizzlies opened competition with the preliminary round of the men's mile and advanced two runners to Saturday's final, scheduled for 2:40 p.m. MT. Housem Hrabi won his heat and finished second overall in 4:06.55, while Louis O'Loughlin also secured a spot in the final after placing fifth overall in 4:05.27.
In the women's mile preliminaries, Ava O'Connor and Marie Garret both punched their tickets to Saturday's final at 2:50 p.m. MT. O'Connor placed third in her heat and third overall with a time of 4:47.88, while Garret grabbed the final qualifying position with a mark of 4:50.20.
Lieke Hoogsteen put herself in prime position heading into Saturday's women's 800-meter final, posting the fastest preliminary time of the day at 2:08.07. With the performance, Hoogsteen secured First Team All-American honors ahead of the final scheduled for 3:35 p.m. MT.
In the men's 5,000 meters, Felix Perrier added another First Team All-American honor to the Adams State total with a fourth-place finish in 13:50.53. Kidus Begashaw finished ninth in 13:56.96, while Juan Rosales took 11th in 14:02.61. Julian Campos placed 13th in 14:07.89, and Danyom Yosief rounded out the Second Team All-Americans with a 16th-place finish in 14:27.45.
The Adams State women's distance medley relay team delivered the other podium performance of the day, finishing third with a time of 11:28.11. The quartet of Lieke Hoogsteen, Isila Apkup, Marie Garret and Maggie McCleskey earned First Team All-American honors with the performance.
On the men's side, the distance medley relay team of Gabe Onelio, El-Mir Reale, Jack Gumm and Harrison Boyd finished 10th overall with a time of 9:55.11.
The Grizzlies will be back at it again tomorrow, with the men's shot put starting at 12:45 p.m. MT.
