MANKATO, Minn. – The Augustana track and field team closed out day one of the NSIC Indoor Championships with an NSIC Champion two all-conference honorees. Multiple Vikings clinched spots in finals events after strong times in the prelims. 

Bryant Keller kicked off the podium finishes on the men's side in the 5,000m when he closed in 14:41.09 to become an NSIC Champion. Coming in second was Isaiah Anderson, whose season-best time of 14:43.35 was good for All-NSIC honors. Joining them in the top five was Brady Hogan, whose 14:54.20 was enough for fifth place and Addisu Haverly took ninth with a time of 15:19.04 to round out Vikings in the top 10. 

Ellen Merkley zoomed through the 60m with a time of 7.52, setting a new program record and earning the 27th time in DII. She took the second spot in prelims and will move onto Saturday's field. Merkley will also compete in the 200m on Saturday after finishing second in the prelims with a time of 24.82.

On the men's side, three Vikings qualified in the 100m after taking times in the top six. Evan Myran led the charge, placing third with a time of 2:31.52. Right behind him was Tyson Ricker in fifth with a time of 2:31.66 and, just 0.06 seconds later, Will Ahrens placed sixth in 2:31.72. In the women's 1000m prelims, Tenley Nelson took the top spot in the NSIC field with a personal-best 2:57.02, earning a Saturday spot in the event. 

In the 800m, three Vikings packed together within a second of each other for qualifying finishes. Peyton Boeck led the trio with a time of 2:15.35 to take third, Sydney Serck placed fourth in 2:15.99 and Avari Getchell took fifth with a time of 2:16.09 to grant them all spots tomorrow. Also moving on was Erin Eilers in the 600m as she placed 10th in 1:38.98.

Two more men will compete on Saturday in their respective events. In the 400m, Jude Jarding coasted to a fourth-place finish when he finished in 48.95. In the 200m, Trent DeCook earned a spot when he placed ninth with a time of 22.44.

In the final women's event of the night, The women's 4,000m DMR team just missed All-Conference honors. The team of Lindsey Young, Jennifer Noutsougan, Jordyn Arens and Allyson Sample ran hard for a fourth-place finish, closing with a time of 12:08.31, nearly 22 seconds faster than fifth place.

To round out Friday, Max Salas, Blake Morris, Tarin Hutchinson and Nick Batchelor also narrowly missed 4,000 DMR All-NSIC recognition with a fourth-place finish. The team had a time of 10:24.99 to close the night. 

Augustana will close out the two-day NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday.