Both sophomore Tyler Garland and senior Shai Mumford competed at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field championships on Friday in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mumford competed in the 200 meters, where he finished 11th overall with a time of 22.02, a season best. He also had the third-best time of the heat. This was his second straight appearance at the indoor championship.

Garland, competing in the indoor NCAA’s for the first time, placed 15th with a time of 8.37 in the 60 meter hurdles, good enough for the sixth-fastest time of the second heat.

“They finished higher than they were seeded and that’s always our goal,” said head coach Dustin Dimit.

Garland was pleased with his performance but was still a bit bothered by not hitting his personal best during the weekend.

“It went pretty well,” Garland said. “I came in as the 20th seed and then I came out as 15th, so it was pretty decent that I moved up five slots. But I didn’t hit that PR (personal record) I wanted to hit at the end of the season. “

Competing in the championships also provided Garland and Mumford with another type of experience: to begin preparation for the outdoor season.

“I ended it [the indoor season] on a good note,” Garland continued. “That I went all the way to nationals and I got that experience that I needed. So if I go to the next level, I won’t be as nervous as I was this time. But then again, I was trying to hit a decent PR, another PR and be faster but that didn’t happen. Overall, I’m satisfied with the results I got this year though.”

“Anytime you get that championship experience, especially for Tyler, being his first time there, that’ll help when you get to the outdoor national championships just because it’s a different procedure in how you check in and all those things compared to a normal meet,” Dimit said.

Garland will be taking on the “hardest race” in his opinion, the 400 meter hurdles. Mumford returns to the 100 and 200 meters. He came in second in the 100 meters in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships and finished first in the 200 meters in both the All-Atlantic Conference and the conference meet, qualifying for NCAA’s in the event. Mumford came in 16th.

With the new season comes some new events compared to the indoor season. Both the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays, which were some of the best in the country, according to Dimit, will be back to bring in more success.

“The four-by-one [4×100], you know, they were practicing their hand-offs yesterday and those kinds of things,” Dimit said. “Then, we start a new phase of our training where we go back to doing more strength-based things, as it’s early in the season so we want to make sure we’re running our fastest at the end.”

The outdoor schedule begins on Friday in Orlando, Florida, where the team will participate in the UCF Black and Gold Invitational.

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