BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) was crowned champion in the 3,000 meters at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championship Thursday afternoon at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Screaming Eagles earned a sixth-place team finish after totaling 33 points.
 
Hufnagel finished the championship with a 3,000-meter time of eight minutes, 21.06 seconds to cap off USI's first-ever conference championship appearance. He also secured a second-place finish in the 5,000 meters with a 14:25.16 mark.
 
Junior Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) earned a pair of top-five performances, nabbing fourth in the 3,000 meters before placing fifth in the 5,000 meters. Hopf crossed the line in 8:25.36 in the 3,000 meters and secured a personal-best time of 14:40.05 in the 5,000 meters. Also finding the top five were sophomores Dylan Bland (Holland, Indiana) and Brady Terry (Philpot, Kentucky) with Bland earning 10th in the 5,000 meters (15:01.85)  and Terry placing ninth in the mile (4:17.42).
 
Two USI relays earned top-10 marks in the championship with the distance medley relay group finishing in fourth while the 4x400 relay nabbed eighth. The distance medley relay team consisted of Terry, junior Ethan Goddard (Avon, Indiana), senior Tyler Garrett (Martinsville, Indiana), and sophomore Trace Manzi (Evansville, Indiana) rallied to finish the relay in 10:29.01. The 4x400 relay team consisting of Terry, Garrett, sophomore Rick Pflanz (Huntingburg, Indiana), and sophomore Luke Heinemann (Georgetown, Kentucky) earned a point for the Eagles with a time of 3:29.51.
 
Making some noise in the field was junior Josh Kaminski (Lafayette, Indiana) who tossed an 11th-best 45 feet, seven inches in the shot put. Junior Kyle Crone (Maryville, Illinois) had a 6' 00" performance in the high jump, placing 12th.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles will begin the outdoor season on March 17 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Jim Vargo Invitational hosted by Bellarmine University.