Photo courtesy of MTU Michigan Technological University runner Sam Lange, 8, competes in the 1,500-meter dash Saturday at the Lee Last Chance Meet in Cleveland, Tennessee.
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Michigan Tech middle-distance runners Sam Lange (1,500 meters) and John Paul Noland (800 meters) ran personal bests Saturday at the Lee Last Chance Meet in Cleveland, Tennessee. , capping off a three-game week for the Huskies.
Noland was first on the track and finished the first lap in 8th place with a time of 54.65 seconds, then followed up hard on the second lap and finished 14th overall with a time of 1:51.06, below the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. . The Houghton, Michigan, native capped off a great campaign outdoors with his 52nd fastest time in the 800-meter dash in Division II.
Sam Lange hit the track in the evening with the intention of running fast enough to extend his season by two weeks. The Washington, Illinois, native improved throughout the race, posting a sub-60 second time before moving up two spots on the second lap. He finished his final lap in 59.08 seconds, beating out five runners and improving on his personal best time of 3:45.01 for fourth place and currently the 22nd best time in Division II. .
His new personal best is more than a second faster than the previous record set at last year's Last Chance Meet in Joliet, Illinois, and the school record time of 3:43 set by Clayton Sayen in the qualifying round. It was the second fastest time in school history after a time of .84 seconds. May 2022 NCAA Championships 1,500 meters.
“I was really proud to see Sam and John Paul compete here in Tennessee.” Head coach Robert Young said: “They both knew they were in a really strong field and took advantage of the opportunity. John Paul notched his first-ever Provo mark and showed his rise from last week was no fluke. Very deep. Although he will not be able to participate in the national competition this year, Sam has qualified for the national competition and is attracting attention. He left everything on the track. Now we have to wait patiently until Tuesday to find out if he will be on track.
“Maddie Van Wieren has made a career-ending breakthrough in the 1500m. She has worked hard and raced consistently over the past two years, so we hope she will come into the race with a breakthrough vest. It’s really great to see him come out.”
“Sofia Lyne put an exclamation point on the end of a great freshman year with two great races in two days. She's going to be a player to watch next year and something special is about to happen.” .”The Huskies opened Last Chance Week on Wednesday with Landon Cosby and Max Messina facing off at Hillsdale.
Cosby finished seventh in the men's pole vault with a record of 15-5.5. Messina placed 10th in the men's discus with a throw of 130-5 (39.76 meters).
Maddie VanWieren and Sophia Rein had the race of a lifetime at the Fighting Chance Invite in Joliet, Illinois, May 10-11.
Van Wieren closed out his Husky career with a new personal best in the 1,500 meters, shaving nearly five seconds off the personal best he set in the qualifying round of the GLIAC Championships, and finishing eighth with a new personal best of four. 40.78.
Jamie Hendrickson, who competed in the women's high jump, withdrew after finishing 5-1, on a day when only two athletes broke 5-3.
Landon Cosby had his best recent performance on vault, clearing the vault with a record of 15 wins and 11 losses for the third time this season. He passed 4.90 meters but could not go beyond 4.95 meters.
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The Huskies will wait to see if Lange's performance in the 1,500 meters is good enough to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The list of qualifiers is expected to be announced at some point Tuesday.
