BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UIndy track & field program concluded its 2021 indoor season with a memorable stay at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. One day after Lauren Bailey secured the event title in the 5000 meters, senior Berenice Cleyet-Merle followed Saturday with a national championship in the 800.
 
Add Bailey's fifth-place finish in the 3K this evening, the Greyhound women combined to score 24 points and place seventh in the team standings, both good for a new program best.

In addition, junior Ben Nagel was the recipient of the NCAA Elite 90 after compiling the highest cumulative GPA of all the men at the meet.
 

?? | Hoist it high, Berenice!! ?? @UIndyXCTF pic.twitter.com/xWgYtUcmUh

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) March 14, 2021

 
After posting the top time of yesterday's 800 prelims, Cleyet-Merle made good in today's final, outpacing DII's best with a time of 2:07.43. Her performance netted the Hounds their second event championship of the meet, marking the first time two Greyhounds captured an individual title at the same national meet.
 
Bailey, meanwhile, came a fraction of a second shy of breaking her own school record in the 3K. She crossed in 9:28.98 to secure fifth place and her second All-America nod in as many days.

FRIDAY
Bailey captured the 5,000-meter crown finishing with a record-breaking time of 16:03.98. The lightning-fast time shattered her own school mark (16:17.70) while also shaving nearly two-and-a-half seconds off the Division II Championship Meet record. It was also good for the second-fastest 5K time in DII history.
 
A native of Westfield, Ind., Bailey became just the second Greyhound woman to win an indoor track & field event title, joining UIndy Athletics Hall of Famer Andrea Horban (shot put, 2006).
 

?? | Here's what a national-championship race looks like! @UIndyXCTF #D2WITF pic.twitter.com/tMtbF4j8mI

— UIndy Athletics (@UIndyAthletics) March 13, 2021

Senior Berenice Cleyet-Merle secured her spot in Saturday's 800-meter final. Coming into the meet with the top time in DII, Cleyet-Merle followed suit by winning heat 2 with a time of 2:11.14. She will be one of eight women compete for the event champion tomorrow, with the 800 final scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET.
 
Making his debut at nationals, Ben Nagel put up a solid time in the men's 800 meter. The junior from Mooresville posted a time of 1:54.78, placing fifth in heat 1 and 12th overall. Earlier in the evening, Nagel was announced as the sport's Elite 90 honoree.
 
The only field qualifier for the Hounds this year, Brittney Clark tied for ninth in the women's pole vault. She was one of three competitors to clear 3.95 meters on her first attempt to come just shy of her own school record (3.98m).