HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's indoor track & field team will be represented in the mile and the distance medley relay (DMR) at this year's NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship.
Charlie Marquardt, named the Centennial Conference Outstanding Indoor Track Performer of the Year for the second consecutive season, will compete for the Fords in the mile. Marquardt will also join Henry Woods, Jonathan Yellets, and Liam Lynch in the DMR.
Marquardt, a senior from Pasadena, California, is already a four-time All-American and was a member of Haverford's All-America DMR during the 2014 indoor season. He placed fifth last year in the 3,000 meters during the indoor championship. He was the national runner-up in the 1,500 meters during the outdoor season of his junior season. The mile prelims are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The final will occur on Saturday at the same time.
Last month, at the Centennial Conference Championship, Marquardt finished atop the leader board in the mile run. Marquardt made headlines this season when he ran the fifth-fastest mile (4:02.24) in Division III indoor track & field history. He will enter this event as the top seed in the field.
The DMR is a finals only race, which is set to go off Friday night at 7:50 p.m. Woods, who was last year's Centennial Conference Outstanding Rookie, will look to give the Fords a strong start to the relay in the 1,200 meter leg of the race. Yellets will follow in the 400 meters. The Charlotte, North Carolina native set a new personal best this season for the 400 meter run with a time of 51.08. Lynch will make his debut at the national championship competing in the 800 meter leg of the DMR. Running his second mile of the day in his individual heats, Marquardt will anchor the relay for the Fords.
Haverford has had an All-America DMR team seven times in program history. The most recent occurances came in 2014 when both Marquardt and Yellets were members of that relay team that placed second overall. Haverford won the DMR national championship in 2002.
Ivo Milic-Strkalj '13 became Haverford's only indoor All-American in the mile when he placed fifth in the event during the 2010 season. Prior to that, the comparable event was contested at the 1,500 meter distance where Haverford earned 12 All-America certificates during the indoor track & field season.
That list includes five individual national championships, headlined by three-time 1,500 meter indoor national champion Karl Paranya '97. Matt Leighninger '92 and Aaron Curry '94 also won national championships on the indoor surface at the 1,500 meter distance.