HOLLAND, Mich. – Opening competition at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Outdoor Track Championship, presented by Collegiate Credit Union, the Alma College track and field teams placed sixth for the men and seventh for the women after day one action. The men scored 13.0 points while the women scored 15.0 points to open the two-day meet.

Qualifying for finals on the men's side, Aiden Tornberg finished eighth in the 400-meter prelims with a time of 50.51, looking to climb and secure the Scots points tomorrow in finals. The Scots claimed the first MIAA Champion of the event as Ed Markarian finished atop the standings in the long jump, jumping a meet best 6.80 meters, one-hundredth of meter farther than second place to claim the title and ten team points. Three more points came from freshman Nikolas Sovie in the pole vault with a sixth-place finish and a mark of 4.06 meters. 

The women's first points of the championship came from Sophia Dech, finishing eighth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 39:26.40, scoring one team point for the Scots. Lauren Brawt, who scored four points from her fifth-place finish in the Heptathlon, secured another fifth place in the long jump, setting mark of 5.29 meters, a new personal best and still the fifth best jump in school history, for another four points towards the team total. Freshman Ella Moylan added the Scots third fifth-place finish of the championship in the shot put, throwing for a distance of 11.29 meters, scoring four more points to the Scots total.

Action will resume for the championship tomorrow at 12:00 PM in Holland, Michigan, on the campus of Hope College. Awards and events will run throughout the day including towards for those who placed on day one events as well.