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Posted: May 25, 2023

Sayen Concludes Historic Career for the Huskies at NCAA Championships

Sayen Concludes Historic Career for the Huskies at NCAA Championships
Results

PUEBLO, Colo. – Houghton native Clayton Sayen concluded his historic career for Michigan Tech at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Pueblo, Colorado, on Thursday evening.

Sayen battled the wind and his competitors in commendable fashion, but slid back to finish eighth in his heat of the 1,500m, in a time of 3:53.60. The first heat proved to be the faster of the two, with three of the four available little q's coming from Sayen's heat, placing him 15th in the event.

The senior was in good position through 300m, sitting in fourth, before settling into the race in the second lap to move to 10th. Following some contact with other runners in the field in the third lap, Sayen could not recover when he hit the bell lap, concluding his career for the Huskies.

"It was an emotional day for me filled with happiness, sadness and gratefulness," Clayton Sayen said. "It wasn't my best day on the track, but it was the best effort I could give. It's always sad falling short of a goal, but looking back on my career only makes me happy.

"I'm beyond grateful for the support from my coaches, family and my teammates, especially the ones who made the trip out to come watch. My time as a Husky has been great and I'm happy to have been part of a program that has seen such improvement over my five years. I'm thankful for the opportunity that Michigan Tech has given me and I look forward to this program growing and improving moving forward."

This was Sayen's second year qualifying for the 1,500m at the NCAA Championships. He holds school records in the 1,500m (3:43.84) and the 800m (1:49.27). He was the back-to-back GLIAC Outdoor 1,500m Champion (2022, 2023) and holds the meet record in the event. This past fall, he had the highest individual finish in Michigan Tech history at the NCAA Cross Country Championships where he placed 16th overall, being the low-stick for the 10th place Huskies, marking their highest team finish in program history.