BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Haverford College Men's Indoor Track & Field team opened competition at the 2018 NCAA Division III Championships on Friday afternoon at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Juniors Dylan Gearinger and Graham Peet finished in 10th and 11th, respectively, in the 5,000 meter final while junior Greg Morgan advanced to the final of the mile run with an impressive showing in the first heat of preliminary action.
Gearinger was near the top of the pack to begin the race and was able to stay in prime position into the latter half of the event before the trio of Dhruvil Patel of North Central, Will McDermott of Widener and Darin Lau of Wisconsin Eau-Claire began to gain separation from the rest of the field in the closing laps. The junior from Berwick, Pa. finished in a time of 14:51.13. Peet, from Vashon, Wash., crossed the finished line just over two seconds after Gearinger with a final time of 14:53.77.
Gearinger will also compete in the 3,000 meters, completing the distance double on Saturday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. ET. Gearinger's seed time of 8:15.96 was the eighth-fastest in the nation this season. Gearinger was the Centennial Conference champion in both distances this season en-route to taking home Centennial Conference Track Performer of the Year honors earlier this week.
Morgan, of Hollidaysburg, Pa., looked strong in the mile prelims, finishing second in the first heat with a time of 4:12.93. The junior was near the top of the heap for the bulk of the race before gaining separation in the finals laps. Jeffrey Dover of Christopher Newport made a late charge to take first in the heat.
Morgan joins Dover, Jeremy Hernandez of Ramapo, Max Brown of Emory, Jack Pinho of Springfield, Donson Cook-Gallardo of Carleton, Casey Roberts of Wartburg, Keith Ketola of St. Olaf, Jack Kiely of Bates and MacKenzye Leroy of Washington and Lee as qualifiers for the men's mile run final, which will be contested at 3:50 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Live video and results for all of tomorrow's action in Birmingham will be provided via the NCAA's website. Fans can access the links via HaverfordAthletics.com