(Editor's note: Montana State University media release)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Montana State's Duncan Hamilton completed his first national meet appearance over the next four days on Friday, March 12, as he raced in the men's mile preliminaries at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Running in the second heat of two, the opening heat had all eight runners complete times under 3 minutes, 59 seconds. Hamilton's heat immediately started slower than the first forcing a tighter race between the eight runners in his section.
Hamilton jockeyed for position and sat in second through the opening 800 meters. However, the rest of the field was broken up over the next 400 meters. The Bozeman native eventually placed eighth in his heat and 16th overall with a time of 4:10.34.
"Duncan's section ended up starting at a much slower pace than the first section which caused there to be a lot more contact and pace changes," said his coach Lyle Weese. "It was the first time Duncan has run in that type of race and the first time he was on a banked track this year, so it was a challenging situation for him."
The Bobcat sophomore in track and field was the 11th men's competitor for the program to ever participate in the NCAA Indoor Championships. He became MSU's ninth All-American during the indoor season with his finish in the men's mile.
"It was an exciting, but also a frustrating experience for him," Weese said. "Luckily, instead of having to wait months for his next NCAA Championship race, he only has to wait two days for the Cross Country Championships!"
Hamilton returns to action on Monday when he takes part in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The men's 10-kilometer race is scheduled to start at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course at 11:40 a.m. MT.
