Posted on December 12, 2017
Evan Verbal Sets Top NCAA DII Time
The Cougar Athletics track team opened the indoor season this weekend, taking to the track in Golden, Colorado, at the Colorado School of Mines Alumni Classic Meet.
In one of the most anticipated races of the day, fifth-year Cougar Evan Verbal won the men's 3,000-meter run. Verbal also won the one-mile race last week at Boston University competing against Division I opponents.
Verbal and Colorado School of Mines runner, Grant Colligan, were in a race of their own from the beginning. Though they were in a lead pack of four to five runners for the first half of the race, the two eventually pulled away from the other runners. With about four laps to go, Verbal passed Colligan and never let up. Verbal went on to win the race by a comfortable three seconds, finishing in a time of 8:24.09.
Verbal's time, which is the fastest time in all of NCAA Division II this season, qualifies him for the NCAA National Championships, to be held in mid-March 2018.
CCU had many other highlights on the day, with senior Matt Larsen earning his way into the finals of a deep field in the men's 60-meter dash. Larsen finished eighth in the finals running in a time of 7.17 seconds.
In the women's one-mile race, junior Mandee Middleton finished third but was the top finisher of all RMAC racers. Middleton ran a strong race from start to finish, crossing the finish line in a time of 5:32.69, a full two seconds ahead of the next closest RMAC runner.
CCU had five racers compete in the field of 10 in the 800-meter race. The Cougars' highest place finisher was freshman Micah Conley. Running in his first collegiate meet, Conley earned fourth place, only one-tenth of a second behind the third place finisher.