GAINESVILLE, Fla. - After breaking the American Midwest Conference record, William Woods University's 4x800-meter relay team of
Ethan Wilson,
Oshawi Burgher,
Ian Schwierjohn and
Blaine Brodersen outdid their previous history-making time, running a school record 7:47.46 in the 60th Annual NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field National Championship Thursday at Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe.
Wilson, Burgher, Schwierjohn and Brodersen surpassed their AMC Indoor Championships record time of 7:50.87 by 3.41 seconds.
Despite that record-breaking time, the Owls were 7.4 seconds away from qualifying for the final, placing 17th out of 25 overall and fourth out of six in Heat 1. The final field is made up of the four heat winners and the four following best times - three of a possible five finalist relay teams were in WWU's Heat 1.
"I could not be happier with these young men's performances today," William Woods track and field assistant
Gregory A. Keeler said. "The men's 4x800 relay is considered one of the strongest fields in this year's championship, which makes their effort just that much more impressive. I feel like today's performance is a launching pad to the outdoor season."
Following the meet, The Woods' back-to-back record-breaking relay team shared their thoughts on their tremendous performance and competing at nationals.
"Could not be more happy to end my indoor career with this group of guys and program," Schwierjohn said. "Not the result we wanted, but we will be back."
"Thankful for the opportunity to run at my first NAIA nationals; overall, it is a good learning experience," Burgher stated.
"Proud to have this opportunity, wasn't our ideal race, but we will be back stronger and healthier soon," Wilson shared.
"Proud of my guys; it was a hell of a race, and I'm excited to see what all our guys are able to do in the future," Brodersen said.
The Owls take the startling line for their outdoor season in the CMU Open at 10 a.m. March 15 at Davis Field & Hairston Track in Fayette.
