Track & Field | 3/10/2018 12:49:00 AM

National Champions Men's Distance Medley Relay: Dustin Nading (1,200), Aaron Whitaker (400), AJ Holmberg (800), David Ribich (1,600) Men's Mile: Dustin Nading   All-American Dustin Nading, 1st (mile) David Ribich, 3rd (3,000) Suzanne Van De Grift. 7th (mile) Olivia Woods, 6th (800) Kennedy Rufener, 8th (5,000) School Record Women's 5,000: Kennedy Rufener, 16:49.68 (old record by Rufener, 16:53.96 (2018) Women's 3,000: Kennedy Rufener, 9:41.54 (old record by Rufener 9:46.27 (2018) NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field National Championships Pittsburgh State University Robert J. Plaster Center Pittsburgh, Kan. WOU WOMEN 800 (finals): 6. Olivia Woods, 2:11.24. 800 (prelims): 3. Olivia Woods, 2:09.16. Mile (finals): 7. Suzanne Van De Grift, 4:50.75. Mile (prelims): 2. Suzanne Van De Grift, 4:50.09. 3,000: 11. Kennedy Rufener, 9:41.54. 5,000: 8. Kennedy Rufener, 16:49.68. WOU MEN Mile (prelims): 1. Dustin Nading, 4:13.30. Mile (prelims): 8. Dustin Nading, 4:07.20. 3,000 (finals): 3. David Ribich, 8:01.55. Distance Medley Relay (finals): 1. Western Oregon, (Dustin Nading, Aaron Whitaker, AJ Holmberg, David Ribich).

DAY 1 RECAP

PITTSBURGH, Kan.—Successfully defending their championship, the Western Oregon University men's distance medley relay captured gold in yet another dramatic finish at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships on Friday. 

Placed in the back half of the 12-team pack heading into the final exchange, anchor leg David Ribich picked off more than a half of a dozen racers to claim gold for the second straight season. Ribich turned in a sub-3:56 split for the final 1,600 meters to pass and hold off the likes of Colorado State-Pueblo and Grand Valley State.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, this is a legendary performance in WOU history. The announcer sensed it and the crowd started to get a feel of what was happening every time a runner was passed. It was electric in the arena over those final laps," WOU track & field head coach Mike Johnson said.  

A year after winning the gold by .001 in a photo finish, the Wolves expanded its winning advantage to .44 with CSU-Pueblo taking runner-up honors. Dustin Nading opened the relay with the 1,200-meter leg and was followed by Aaron Whitaker (400) and AJ Holmberg (800). Nading, Holberg and Ribich formed three-fourths of the championship squad a year ago.In the only individual final of the day, Kennedy Rufener earned her first career All-American honor with an eighth-place result in the 5,000-meter run. Rufener hovered in the No. 12 position out of 17 competitors through the first two kilometers before moving up the field in the middle sections of the race.

"Kennedy was tripped up at the start and had to work her way back up. It took a little bit, but she seemed to freshen at 900 meters and had a solid and composed finish," Johnson said.

Rufener closed out the distance event with a school record 16:49.68 to score a point in the team standings. The time set a personal best in the event by more than four seconds. In all, Rufener lowered the school record in the 5,000 by more than 34 seconds this season.

After placing fifth in the opening section of the men's mile, Dustin Nading had to play the waiting game through the second round of competitors as only the top three in each heat earned automatic advancement to Saturday's finals. Nading clocked a 4:07.20 and finished with room to spare as all three additional qualifiers were taken from the opener after the winning time in the second section fell back at 4:10.75.

"It was a very physical start. Dustin worked his way up from eighth or so to get to the lead. The race started to slow up and he made the right move to get through comfortably," Johnson said.

Nading's time stood as the No. 5 mark on the day. Adams State's George Kelly topped the first heat with the fastest time in prelims at 4:06.15. Nading holds a season and career best of 4:05.50 in the indoor mile.

Leaving no doubt about her position for the women's mile finals, Suzanne Van De Grift eased through the line in a runner-up result in the opening heat to earn automatic placement to Saturday's race. Just off the shoulder of Walsh's Sarah Berger, Van De Grift crossed the finish in 4:50.09 to Berger's 4:49.90.

Like the men's mile, the opening race turned in faster times than its counterpart as six of the nine total runners moving on to Saturday's finale were represented in the first preliminary group. Van De Grift entered the championships with a 4:48.95 for the No. 7-ranked time in the field with a season best.

"The women's mile had another rugged start. Everyone started to go with a lap to go and Suzie showed poise by not going too early. She stayed with the group and made a late push in what was a wonderful race," Johnson said.

Mimicking her two teammates, Olivia Woods toed the line in the opening section of her respective event and broke through to finals. Earning her place in the indoor national finals of the 800 for the second straight year, Woods scored a 2:09.10 for third place in the first section.

"Olivia kept herself at the front of the field and protected her position. She felt the field, was alert and moved her way through comfortably but still within range of a lifetime best," Johnson said.

The mark was good for the third best of the day and just off her season best of 2:09.16 that was set two weeks ago at the GNAC Championships. Woods placed sixth at indoor nationals a year ago to earn All-American honors.

WOU will have entrants in five events on Saturday with Nading and Van De Grift opening the day in the finals of the mile.