Indianapolis, Ind. – The University of Findlay men's and women's track and field teams concluded the indoor season on Saturday, March 15, the final day at the NCAA Division II National Championship which was held the past three days at the Fall Creek Pavilion as part of the NCAA DII Festival in Indianapolis, Ind.
Findlay's women finished the event in 18th as a team while the men ended in a tied for 49th.
Saturday's top performance came from the Oilers' women's 4x400m relay squad which entered the event with the fastest time in the country this year. The penultimate event of the championship, this one came down to a photo finish. Mary Ellis started the race off and went neck-and-neck with Lincoln's Shaneal Clarke-Giddings as the two squads created clear separation over the first 400 meters. Ellis handed the baton to Leah Smith who would run Findlay's fastest 400 of the race, a 53.58 that kept both Findlay and Lincoln nearly even through the midway point of the race. Jordan Taylor put the Oilers in front and handed to Kylie Ray who maintained Findlay's lead. A burst out of Lincoln's final runner closed the gap as the two teams stretched for the finish line.
The clock showed times of 3:37.30 for each team, requiring a deeper look. After review, Lincoln came away with a time that was just six-thousandths of a second faster than Findlay, giving UF a heartbreaking runner-up finish in the event. That time was good for a program record and was just a second off the Division II record which was set last year. This is the second consecutive year that the Oilers have had its' women's 4x400 relay team reach the podium at the national championship after the team finished seventh last year. This year's squad showed incredible improvement, finishing seven seconds faster than in 2024.
Seeded 16th in the 400m dash heading into the event, Kylie Ray performed above expectations on Thursday by qualifying for today's finals. Ray ran a personal best and set a new school record in the event, posting a time of 53.91. That time was good for sixth in the event and gives her first-team all-American honors. She is the first female athlete from Findlay to earn all-American in the 400m dash.
In men's shot put, sophomore Eyan Wilson secured a second-team all-American finish as his first effort sailed 17.64m (57'10 1/4"). Wilson has earned the 16th all-American award in indoor shot put in program history.
Rounding out Findlay's performance on Saturday was sophomore Nate Buschur who competed in the pole vault. Buschur cleared 4.84m on his third attempt and went on to clear 4.99m in just two attempts. Facing a height of 5.14m, the sophomore missed on his first two attempts, but cleared on the third to set a new personal record. He would miss his next three tries, but his effort earned him a 14th place finish in the event.
This event concludes the indoor campaign for the Oilers which now turn to the outdoor season which begins on Friday, March 28 at the Raleigh Relays.
