TU Men See Several Compete at Fighting Chance Invite

JOLIET, Ill. – The Taylor men's outdoor track and field season continued Friday and Saturday at the Fighting Chance Invite, hosted by Saint Francis (Illinois). Select athletes were sent to the meet and several produced strong showings, including a win for Joel Mumaw in his section of the 1,500 meters.

Mumaw won his eight-person heat in the 1,500 meters with a personal-record time of 3:54.35. The sophomore's time was also TU's fastest mark of the season.

Taylor added three sub-two-minute times to its season tally in the 800 meters with Nathan Brainer, James Bates and Ben Eiffert all accomplishing the feat. Brainer led the trio of seniors with a third-place showing of 1:55.89, while Bates and Eiffert took 17th and 20th, respectively, out of 50 competitors.

Freshman Nathan Burns held his own in the invitational portion of the 5,000 meters, clocking a 14:47.25 to finish 15th of 22 runners.

Luke Harber and Ryan Hanak also ran in a section of the 5,000 meters, recording times of 14:50.01 and 15:07.21. Harber's time marked the best of his collegiate career.

Rounding out the Trojans' participation in events was Jared Stayte, who finished the 3,000-meters steeplechase in 9:38.48.

Taylor's top-performing outdoor athletes now look ahead to the NAIA National Championships, which are set to take place in Marion, Ind., from May 22-24.