Men's Outdoor Track & Field wraps up pre-national championship slate at Gregory Invitational

By Blake Moore

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Sophomores Matt Bradshaw (Cleveland/Norton) and Owen Lloyd (Colfax, Ind./Clinton Prairie) and freshman Andrew Buderer (Oak Harbor) represented the Ohio Northern men's track and field team at the Gregory Invitational at North Central (Ill.), rounding out the program's pre-national championship slate.

The meet, which served as an official last chance qualifier for the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships, was not scored.

Bradshaw and Buderer each registered top-three finishes to lead the way at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium Wednesday and Thursday.

Bradshaw recorded two third-place finishes over the two-day event in the discus and hammer throw competitions. The sophomore launched the discus 46.15 meters (151' 5") to end third in the seven-man field and heaved the hammer 52.53 meters (172' 4") for third in a 10-man competition.

Buderer cleared 4.63 meters (15' 2.25") in the pole vault on his first attempt at the height, nearly equaling his season-best mark. With the effort, the freshman tied for third amid a 12-person field.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Lloyd crossed the tape in :15.28 to finish seventh overall. He finished just 0.13 seconds outside the top-three in a 17-man field, which included two competitors from NCAA Division I institution Marquette (Wis.).

The Ohio Northern track and field programs will now await the release of the official NCAA Division III National Championship qualifying list. The top 20 men in each event will earn the right to compete at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships from May 23-25 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.