ROLLA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T men's indoor track and field team climbed to No. 14 in Checkpoint No. 5 of the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II National Rankings, continuing its upward momentum as the championship portion of the season approaches. 

 

The Miners are coming off a strong performance at the Hilltop Classic, led once again by Owen Fraser (Kirksville, MO/Kirksville). Fraser captured two event titles, winning the shot put with a mark of 18.35 meters and the weight throw at 19.92 meters. He currently ranks No. 1 nationally in the shot put with his season-best throw of 19.37 meters, further cementing his place among the top throwers in Division II. S&T also swept the top three spots in the shot put at Illinois College, as Aiden McDaniel (Ashland, MO/Southern Boone) finished second (15.22m) and Tyler Marchert (Frankfort, IL/Lincoln-Way East) placed third (14.97m). Noah Misukonis (Bloomington, IL/Bloomington) added a sixth-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 4.61 meters. 

 

On the track, Tate Uding (Festus, MO/Festus) placed second in the mile (4:21.67), while Nathan White finished runner-up in the 400 meters (52.08). Sean Keys (Columbia, MO/Hickman) earned third in the 800 meters (1:58.67), and George Ivanov (Lincoln, NE/Lincoln Pius X) added a third-place finish in the 3,000 meters (8:50.72), highlighting the Miners' depth across distance and middle-distance events. Missouri S&T's 4,000-meter distance medley relay team of Andrew Bacon (Webster Groves, MO/Webster Groves), Otto Knittel (Spring Hill, KS/Spring Hill), Jack Janovick (Spring Hill, KS/Spring Hill), and Henry Born (Lake Quivira, KS/Shawnee Mission Northwest) iscurrently ranked ninth nationally, adding another key event group to the Miners' national profile.