INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Indianapolis track & field teams concluded the 2020 GLVC Indoor Championships Sunday, hosted on campus at the UIndy Athletics and Recreation Center this weekend. The Greyhound men scored 79.50 points to take runner-up honors, while the UIndy women combined for 125.5 points, good for third place.
 
UIndy garnered three gold medals on the day to bring its total to five for the meet – all on the women's side. Junior Berenice Cleyet-Merle won both the 800 and the mile Sunday while also helping the Hounds take silver in the 4x400 meter relay. She was later voted the GLVC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Greyhound woman to earn the award since Angelique McNeal in 2011.
 

?? | Another ?? for @UIndyXCTF! Berenice Cleyet-Merle is the #GLVCtrack mile champ! pic.twitter.com/09dRdUSxAg

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) March 1, 2020

 
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
Men's Team Champion: Missouri S&T
Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Sam Yaro, Lindenwood
Men's Field Athlete of the Year: Don Jackson, Maryville
Men's Freshman of the Year: Don Jackson, Maryville
Men's Coach of the Year: Shaun Meinecke, Missouri S&T
 
Women's Team champion: Lewis University
Women's Track Athlete of the Year:  Berenice Cleyet-Merle, UIndy
Women's Co-Field Athlete of the Year: Casey Berberich, Maryville
Women's Co-Field Athlete of the Year: Tsitsi Mahachi, McKendree
Women's Freshman of the Year: Laila Graham, McKendree
Women's Coach of the Year: Dana Schwarting, Lewis

UIndy's James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees
Berenice Cleyet-Merle and Jacob Stamm
 
The Greyhounds await the announcement of qualifiers for the upcoming 2020 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships, scheduled for March 13-14 in Birmingham, Ala. Stay tuned to UIndyAthletics.com for the official release.
 
SUNDAY
The UIndy men hung on to second place in dramatic fashion with a clutch performance in the meet's final event: the 4x400 meter relay. Racing in the generally-slower first heat, the team of Alexander Brown-Baez, David McFadden, Allen Wright and Brian Sales posted a season-best time 3:28.78. It proved good enough for sixth overall, scoring the team three points and holding off Southwest Baptist and Lewis by 2.5 and three points, respectively.
 
But it was Cleyet-Merle that stole the show on Sunday. The first-year transfer from Saint-Sulpice-des-Rivoires, France notched a pair of gold medals, winning the mile (5:02.26) before coming back to take first place in the 800 (2:14.98). She capped the day with a third medal-winning performance, running the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay and helping the Hounds to second with a season-best time of 3:56.48.
 
The UIndy pole vaulters combined for a dominating performance of their own, as the Greyhound women took five of the top eight positions, including all three podium spots, on the way scoring 26.5 points. Brittney Clark posted a mark of 3.85 meters to successfully defend her indoor title, while Lauren Joseph and Megan Young each cleared 3.70 meters on their first attempt to share second.
 
 
Junior Katrinia Hopkins nearly pulled off a second gold medal in the throwing ring. A day after winning the weight throw, the Avon, Ind., product came just 1 1/4 inches shy of taking the shot put title when her mark of 14.25 meters was surpassed on the final throw from Lewis' Kylie Wymer (14.28).
 
Senior Keri Ertel also took silver, posting a 8.80 in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles. She finishes her collegiate indoor career as a three-time All-GLVC performer in the event and a two-time conference champ.
 
Two UIndy women earned bronze Sunday, as Sheniya Brown broke her own school record in the 60-meter prelims (7.70) before finishing third in the finals (7.71), while Taylor Strnad took third in the high jump with a mark of 1.64 meters, just shy of her personal best. Senior Deju Miller also scored points in the high jump, placing fifth on a jump of 1.59 meters.
 
UIndy racked up five medals on the men's side Sunday, including a pair of silvers from Sales. The veteran sprinter took runner-up honors in both the 200- and 400-meter events in his final GLVC Indoor meet.
 
Sam DeWitt took second in the 60-meter hurdles with a PR of 8.31, falling just .01 seconds shy of the gold-medal time. Teammate and defending champ Dallas Ford earned fifth-place points with a time of 8.43.
 
The UIndy men's distance runners notched two bronze medals on the day, as sophomore Ben Nagel took third with a PR in the 800 (1:55.47) to match Jacob Stamm's finish in the mile (4:22.50).
 
Three Greyhounds scored points in the men's shot put, including a fourth-place finish by Brock King and his season-best 15.70-meter mark.
 
SATURDAY
The Greyhounds crowned a couple of GLVC champions on the opening day of the conference meet, as the women claimed victories in the weight throw and the 5K. Hopkins took over the weight throw on a best distance of 17.60 meters, outing the second-place finisher by .27 meters.
 
Lauren Bailey dominated the women's 5000 meters, winning the event by over 30 seconds with a 16:21.62 final time. Her time not only won the event, but also smashed the former GLVC meet record by 45 seconds.

The women's distance medley relay added another third-place finish to UIndy's list, as the squad of Madelyn Miller, Yailene Leon, Hannah Stein and Madison Vauters claimed the bronze with a time of 12:34.49.
 
Treyton Arnold led the men's field events in the pole vault, reaching up to 4.55 meters to tie for fourth place overall in the event.