A bitter blast of the arctic has swept the nation including Florida where the mouse is happy to be wearing gloves. This cold weather forces runners inside to compete around a small, cramped and often carpeted track. Some athletes thrive while others falter but indoor track and field is a different type of beast. Many athletes have already opened the season either getting a meet in before the holidays or this past weekend. Some have already preliminary qualified and American International’s Glarius Rop has already qualified for the DII indoor champions in Albuquerque, New Mexico which is hosted by Adams State. The freshman ran a 14:08.83 in the 5k.

Last year, Lincoln’s women’s teams took home the team title with 100.5 points and were followed by Grand Valley State and Central Missouri. Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler took home the title in both the mile and 5k. Will she be able to repeat? Or will Shippensburg’s Neely Spence bounce back from a disappointing cross country championship run to take one? Western Washington’s Sarah Porter is sure to challenge and will try to prove that she is as good indoor as she in running over hill and dale. New champions will be crowned in 400 meters, 800 meters and Pole-Vault with both Nebraska-Omaha’s Pinar Saka and Northwest Nazarene’s Ashley Puga and Minnesota State’s Katelin Rains out of eligibility.  St. Augustine’s Barbara Pierre will be back in the 60 meters to better her meet record of 7.27.  In the distance medley relay, Shippensburg returns all runners from the last year championship team that set a meet record.

St. Augustine’s men’s team took home the team title with 105 points followed by Adams State and Abilene Christian.  Adams State might have the edge this year with a home team advantage. Last year’s mile race saw the top three separated by about a second with Adams States’ Aaron Braun taking the title with 4:10.60. This year, Braun will likely be challenged by his own teammates, Reuben Chebon-Mwei and Brian Medigovich along with Harding’s Daniel Kirwa. Braun was the runner-up in the 5k run to Queen’s Michael Crouch. Crouch was injured during the cross country championships and it is not known if he will be back for the indoor season. Look for a race between Braun, Kirwa, Sang and Medigovich this year. Crouch will be in the mix if he races.  St. Augustine’s Josh Scott will be back to defend his titles in both the 200 meters and 400 meters.  Metro State’s Anthony Luna is back to defend his title in the 800 meters but will likely be challenged by Adams State’s Drew Graham. Colorado School of Mines’ distance medley relay team has lost two to graduation. Will they have others to fill their spikes or will another team gain this year’s title?

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