VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Making his second consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Championships meet, junior Ben Martin raced his way to a 75th place finish in the field of 335 runners on Friday, Nov. 22, at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
One year removed from placing 143rd overall in a time of 26 minutes, Martin nearly halved his final placement in a time of 26:11 this year.
After sitting in 134th after the first two kilometers, Martin jumped 44 spots over the next 6:29 to move into 90th place. By the six-kilometer mark, the Topeka, Kan., native improved another five spots before entering the final two kilometers of the race.
Martin finished the final two kilometers of the race in 6:33, allowing him to move up another 10 spots to grab 75th overall.
Oklahoma City nabbed its fifth Red Banner, led by Mark Shaw's individual title in a time of 24:39.
Sports on 12/01/2019