Kammler finishes 14th in 10,000 meter run, Isaiah Lanoy 19th in 3,000 meter steeplechase
The men's track and field program at Shawnee State got two top-20 performances on the first day of the NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, as SSU senior distance runner Aiden Kammler finished 14th in a 35-runner 10,000 meter run, while SSU freshman distance harrier Isaiah Lanoy finished eight spots above his national placement in the 3,000 meter steeplechase in an impressive performance that saw the first-time national championship participant collect a 19th-place finish out of 36 participants in the event.
The events, which were held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., were led off with Lanoy's effort in the 3,000 meter steeplechase preliminaries. Lanoy, who ran in the second of three heats in the steeplechase, finished seventh in his heat -- which ultimately had the top three overall finishers of the three heats combined.
In his freshman season, Lanoy missed qualifying for the national finals in the event by just 9.68 seconds -- and was the last of 19 runners to run under a 9:30. Lanoy came within 4.44 seconds of matching his personal best of 9:23.31 in the event.
Kammler, who competed in the final event on the first day, ultimately clicked off a 31:01.03 to finish 14th in a competitive race where first through 18th place finished just 58 seconds apart in the longest distance running event of the entire national championship meet.
Additional
The Shawnee State men's track and field program will be back in action for both Day 2 and Day 3 of the NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. Day 2, which commences Thursday, will see freshmen throwers Justin Moore and Alan Austin compete in the discus throw at 6 p.m. while Kammler will return to the track at 7:35 p.m. for the men's 5,000 meter semifinals.
If Kammler qualifies successfully in the 5,000 meter semifinals, he'll advance to Friday afternoon's 5,000 meter final at 4:55 p.m. Moore will be competing Friday regardless, as the former Valley High School graduate will compete in the men's shot put at 3 p.m.
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