The 4 X 400-meter relay team of Bart Banach, Mike Russell, Nathan Bates, and Geoff Lambert went to the final regular season track meet with one goal in mind --- qualifying for nationals. The quartet gave it their best shot, running a Wabash-record time of 3:15.70 at Friday's North Central Invitational and the 17th-best time in the nation this year. The only bad news --- the effort was just under a second away from earning a place at the NCAA Division III Championship meet.
"The guys have worked hard all week, and they gave it a great try," said head coach Rob Johnson. "It would have been great to make it to the nationals. This time would have made the meet easily last year. But we broke a record that's stood at Wabash for 20 years. I'm proud of that, and I think those four guys are too."
The foursome was still hopeful to make the finals May 25-27 at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. All four runners were in the Allen Center weight room Saturday afternoon shortly after Johnson had finalized the paperwork to enter the team in the preliminary section of the nationals. Teams that have run faster than a preliminary qualifying time are eligible to enter the nationals, but usually only the top 15 or 16 times are allowed to compete.
One member will be headed to Lisle next weekend. Lambert qualified earlier this season in the 800-meter run. His time of 1:51.73 set at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship meet is currently ninth among the expected 18 participants. He also participated in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships in the 800-meter run this season.
Photo - (l-r) Bart Banach, Geoff Lambert, Nathan Bates, and Mike Russell after setting the school record in the 4 X 400-meter relay at Friday's North Central Invitational with a time of 3:15.70.