Track and Field | 5/24/2024 11:39:00 PM

MARION, Ind.- It was a historic day for Ave Maria University on Friday, as for the first time in school history, a Gyrene can call himself a national champion.

Freshman Michael Long claimed the NAIA championship in the 800 meters, winning the national title at the 72nd annual NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Long, who was also The Sun Conference champion in the event, won the national championship in Ave Maria's first ever trip to the men's outdoor national championships.

Long started his national championships in the preliminaries on Thursday, where the freshman ran the 800 meters in 1:50.65. Long, who entered the championships as the number one seed, lived up to his seed, running the fastest time in the prelims and ensuring his place as an All-American, the first in the history of the AMU track and field program.

In the finals on Friday, Long found himself in third place at the end of the first lap. Just like he did at The Sun Conference Championships, Long caught and passed the leaders in the final 400 meters, winning the national title with a time of 1:49.41. Long crossed the finish line almost four tenths of a second ahead of the runner-up, Cumberlands' Luca Santorum, with all nine of the runners in the finals finishing within 2.6 seconds of one another.

By earning ten points, Long singlehandedly allowed the Gyrenes to finish among the top 30 teams in the nation. University of the Cumberlands was the winner of the team national title, winning by two points over runner-up Marian University. 

Individually, Southeastern's James Williamson III was named the Outstanding Performer, while Oklahoma City's Evert Silva was named Most Valuable Performer. Williamson won the national championship in the 200 meters, joining Long as the lone national champions coming out of The Sun Conference.