University of Lynchburg men’s indoor track and field student-athletes Frank Csorba, Jacob Hodnett, Sam Llaneza, and Chasen Hunt won the national championship in the distance medley relay on Friday evening.
The Hornets ran 9:47.17 to secure the first DMR championship in the program’s history. It’s the fourth national championship in Lynchburg men’s indoor track and field history.
Csorba kicked off the relay with the 1,200-meter leg and had the Hornets in third place, but MIT held a significant lead. Two laps later after Hodnett’s 400 meters, the Hornets were still in second as Llaneza took control of the baton. He ran a 1:52.22 over 800 meters (after placing third in the 800m event two hours earlier on Friday).
Although Lynchburg dropped to third place behind Emory and MIT with eight laps to go, all three relays had a slow exchange into the mile. That allowed Hunt to overtake Emory’s miler, then he kicked into first place shortly after.
He had a significant lead heading into the last two laps and crossed the finish line with outstretched arms in celebration of the national championship. Lynchburg’s 9:47.17 is an NCAA championship-meet record.
Betsy Mohnkern and Aniya Seward kicked off the day in the 60-meter hurdles. Mohnkern placed 11th with an 8.82, but Seward stumbled over the first hurdle and did not finish.
Allison Dell ran a personal record in the 5,000-meter finals during her championship debut and placed 13th.
Llaneza will compete for a second national championship on Saturday at 4:45 p.m. in the 800m finals. Hunt and Csorba will race in the 3,000-meter championship on Saturday, looking for similar glory.
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