Marian Men's Track and Field Capture National Runner-Up at 2024 NAIA National Championships

MARION, Ind. - For the first time in program history, the Marian men's track and field team placed as the national runner-up at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, as the 2024 Knights completed the best finish in program history. Marian finished third early in the 2023-24 year at the indoor championships, and topped it with national runner-up honors for outdoor season.

Marian's quest to the national runner-up spot began on Wednesday, May 22, as the Knights earned NAIA All-American honors twice in the hammer throw, with junior Christian Rios earning the national runner-up honor with a 63.49m distance, while senior Isaiah Tipping scored a third place finish in the event with a mark of 62.80m. The pair of throwers combined for 14 points on the opening day of the championship, putting Marian in second place after the opening day.

On the opening day of the national meet, Marian qualified two events for finals races, as the men's 4x800m relay team that consisted of Tristan Trevino, Owen Pittman, Benjamin Moster, and Matthew Riehle claimed the seven-seed for the finals, while senior Robin Aguilar-Gonzalez qualified into the 3000m steeplechase finals with the third-best preliminary time. 

Day two of the NAIA Championships the Knights made their biggest leap, scoring 24 points on the day to head into the finals in sole possession of first place. Rios was the Knights' biggest scorer on the day, as he won the program's third NAIA National Championship of the 2023-24 year with his win in the discus. Rios hit a national championship winning throw of 54.05m to join his teammates Isaiah Tipping and Jacob Netral as national champions in the 2023-24 year. Tipping would also earn All-American honors in the discus, finishing third overall.

In the 4x800m relay finals, Marian's final race lineup of Trevino, Pittman, Mason Piatt, and Andrew McDade took national runner-up honors, setting a new Marian record with a time of 7:28.58. Trevino's busy week also featured a day-two qualification in the 800m, as he ran to the finals with the eighth-best time in the event. Marian would also qualify their 4x400m relay team to the NAIA finals on the last day, as Gideon Brimmage, Eli Givens, Richard Dube, and Olivier Lifrange clocked a 3:10.92 time, setting a school record.

The combined efforts of the discus throwers and the 4x800m relay team scored a combined 24 points, giving Marian a total of 38 after two days of competition.

The final day of the NAIA Championships began with a bang, as Robin Aguilar-Gonzalez began the efforts on the track for the Knights, scoring national runner-up honors in the 3000m steeplechase with a program record time of 9:04.11. Tristan Trevino would come back around on the final day of the championship and earn his second All-American honor of the week with a 1:51.44 time in the finals of the 800m, finishing seventh. The pair of races moved Marian's team-total to 48 points.

In the final throwing event of the week Marian would score another national runner-up performance, as Jacob Netral placed second in the shot put to bring home All-American honors. Netral hit a distance of 18.03m, and scored eight points in the event to bring Marian's total to 56 points.

The University of the Cumberlands had taken the lead on Marian in the team score as the national championship dwindled to a conclusion, with the Knights trailing the Patriots 64-56 entering the 4x400m relay. Marian's final race lineup of Eric Materna, Eli Givens, Olivier Lifrange, and Richard Dube blazed the track and broke the school record for a second time on the week, placing third overall with their time of 3:08.22. The realy team scored six points to Marian's total, giving them a final score of 62, coming two points shy of a national championship as the Knights ended the NAIA Championships with a National Runner-Up finish.

Marian's finish is the best in program history, and caps a spell of constant improvement as the Knights have recorded program-best finishes at the last four NAIA Track and Field Championships. Marian has won the Crossroads League for four consecutive seasons, boasting one of the best programs in the nation in the stretch. The finish is the best for head coach Michael Holman for either men's or women's track and field, as the coaching great sails into his retirement with nine consecutive Crossroads League Coach of the Year honors in men's indoor and outdoor track and field.