Sayen qualifies for NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships
INDIANAPOLIS – Michigan Tech junior Clayton Sayen has officially qualified to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships May 26-29 in Allendale, Michigan, hosted by Grand Valley State University.
Sayen (Houghton, Michigan) qualified in the Men's 1500m with his performance at the Drake Relays on April 28, with a time of 3:44.33. Sayen also won the GLIAC title in the event on May 5 with a time of 3:47.57.
Sayen is listed in the second heat of the men's 1500 meter prelims starting at 5:10 p.m. Thursday. The men's 1500 meter finals are scheduled for Saturday at 2:25 p.m.
Sayen is the 12th student-athlete in Michigan Tech men's track & field history to make an NCAA appearance and the first to do so in the 1500 meters. Tech qualified Braden Reichl (3000 meter steeplechase) and Matthew Pahl (10,000 meter run) in 2019.
Sayen's impressive year began in fall cross country when he placed first in the Roy Griak Invitational 8K in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 24. Carrying that momentum into outdoor track & field, he bested the MTU 1500 meter school record and set his first NCAA provisional mark with a time of 3:45.84 at the Raleigh Relays.
After improving his time with a second place finish at the Drake Relays on April 29, Sayen was named GLIAC Track & Field Athlete of the Week on May 3. He ran exceptionally well in the final leg of the race, picking up six positions and crossing ahead of a myriad of Division I athletes.
Sayen will have the opportunity to compete in a familiar setting at GVSU Track & Field Stadium, the same surface he out-legged GVSU's Isaac Harding to top the GLIAC podium two weeks ago.
Last week, Sayen ran the 800 meters at the Carius Gregory Invitational as a tune up for the NCAA Championships. His time of 1:49.27 is the 18th fastest 800m time in NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field this year.
Specializing in the 1500 meters, Sayen is seeded as the 13th athlete on the performance list heading to Allendale and is the only GLIAC athlete in the field. Aaron Ahl (Simon Fraser University) holds the top qualifying time in the 1500 meters (3:39.97) heading into national prelims.
Senior Jesse Jacobusse also assembled a strong season for the Huskies in the 800 meters but did not qualify for the NCAA Championships, missing the mark by 43 hundredths of a second with a provisional time at 2:10.11. Jacobusse is expected to compete for the Huskies in cross country in the fall.
Sayen's 1500 meter preliminary race is scheduled for Thursday, May 26 at 5:10 p.m. For tickets, click HERE. For a complete list of men's qualifiers, click HERE.