Men's 4x400 Meter Relay Wrap Up Their Year at North Central

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Tiger Track and Field showcased the men's 4x400 relay team at the Gregory Final Qualifier hosted by North Central on Thursday. Cody Shutt led off the team at the sound of the gun, followed by Kenny Mayes, Ryan Hale, and Tyler Gittins. The relay squad crossed the line at 3:17.96 in fifth place, only a second and a half off the first place target.

Thursday was the end of the road for the crew, as they finished strong ranked 19th in the nation for NCAA Division III. They had their best time on May 12 at the Harrison Dillard Twilight Qualifier, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace, with a time of 3:15.82. Their time also set a new school record, beating out the previous by almost a second. The team was recognized as Honorable Mention All-NCAC with their thrid place finish at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships.

Gittins did not make his usual appearance in the 400 meter hurdles, as he already qualified for the NCAA Division III Championiships at the Harrison Dillard Twilight with his time of 53.07 seconds. As the junior edges his way toward a school record of his own, he also prepares for the championship meet, ranked 14th in the nation for Division III. He recently raced a 54.36 at the NCAC Championships to earn himself First Team All-NCAC recognition.

Gittins is set to run the 400 meter preliminaries at 3:15 PM on Thursday, May 26. If qualifying for the finals, he will race at 2:25 PM on Saturday, May 28.