Running in one the final two meets of the season prior to the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships, four Wabash runners met the provisional qualifying time with a second place finish at the Billy Hayes Invitational, hosted by Indiana University Friday evening.
The quartet of Bart Banach (Munster, IN/Munster), Nathan Bates (Ossian, IN/Norwell), Mike Russell (Terre Haute, IN/Terre Haute North), and Geoff Lambert (Chesterton, IN/Chesterton) finished second in the finals of the 4 X 400-meter relay, crossing the finish line in 3:17.21. The time was their best of the season, and topped the provisional time by .29. Lambert has already met the provisional qualifying time in the 800-meter run, and will wait with his teammates to find out if their marks are good enough to make the championship event at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa May 26-28.
The Little Giant squad of Keith Clayton (Colorado Springs, CO/Fountain Valley School), Bates, Russell, and Banach also ran their best time of the season in the 4 X 100-meter relay, finishing sixth overall with a time of 42.50. Their time was .50 off the provisional cut. They will have one more opportunity to make the cut next weekend at the North Central Invitational.
Eric Morris (Ft. Wayne, IN/Snider) also competed in the discus, finishing with a throw of 145 feet, eight inches.