Two athletes on the Baker University indoor track and field team placed third in their respective events and earned All-American honors at the national championships.

Juniors Aaron Hannon and Ashlee Miller placed third in the pentathlon and heptathlon, respectively, at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championships in Johnson City, Tenn.

“It was a very good nationals meet for us overall,” head coach Zach Kindler said. “It was very competitive with 1,200 of the nation’s best competing for a national title.”

Miller was able to jump several spots in the rankings to earn third place in the nation. <br/>"It was a really good feeling because I was ranked sixth coming in and I knew differences in total points between all of the competition for All-American was really close," Miller said."It was a really good feeling because I was ranked sixth coming in and I knew differences in total points between all of the competition for All-American was really close," Miller said.
“It was a really good feeling because I was ranked sixth coming in and I knew differences in total points between all of the competition for All-American was really close,” Miller said.

Nervousness was not an issue for Miller, who has competed in the national meet before and feels comfortable in her preparation for the major event.

"I've been preparing for nationals for a long time, and I've figured out how I need to prepare for the nationals," Miller said.<br/>By running a personal record in her last event, the 800-meter dash, Miller moved from fourth to third overall.By running a personal record in her last event, the 800-meter dash, Miller moved from fourth to third overall.
By running a personal record in her last event, the 800-meter dash, Miller moved from fourth to third overall.

Hannon also received All-American honors after placing third in the heptathlon, improving 10 spots in the national meet alone from his rank of 13 in the nation before the start of the meet.

“I was extremely excited and so were all my teammates, it was a big accomplishment and a big goal of mine,” Hannon said.

Hannon also recorded personal records in four of the seven events he competed in.

“Aaron was the greatest improvement we saw at the national meet,” Kindler said. “To do that is very, very impressive, and it shows what he might be capable of doing in the outdoor season ahead.”

The team is now focused on preparing for the start of the outdoor season.

The first meet will be the Baker Relays March 28 at Liston Stadium.

A group of 14 Baker athletes will head to California over spring break to compete in the Spring Break Invitational at the University of California Irvine. The trip marks the first outdoor tournament of the spring season for Kindler’s squad.

After the team returns to Baldwin City, it will host the Baker Relays.

The meet is scheduled for March 28 at Liston Stadium.