The Shippensburg University men's distance medley relay squad of sophomore Tom Kehl, sophomore Andrew Kujawski, senior Joel Flott and senior Matt Gillette won the 2013 NCAA Division II national championship Friday night with a meet record-setting time of 9:45.24.

Shippensburg achieved its second NCAA indoor DMR national championship in three years and its third consecutive Top 3 finish in the event, eclipsing school, conference and facility records in the process. It is also the second-fastest time in the history of Division II, trailing only an effort of Abilene Christian recorded in 2005.

A strong 1,200-meter opening leg by Kehl had Shippensburg in fifth place entering the first exchange. Kehl led briefly at the two-minute mark but remained within two seconds of the leaders by the end of his run. Kujawski was credited with a 48.05-second split on his 400-meter leg, which bumped the Raiders into fourth place entering the second exchange.

The opening legs provided the initial sense of magic for Shippensburg, and the dynamic performances in the final two legs helped the Raiders to achieve history.

Heading into the final 200 meters of his 800-meter leg, Flott began a strong kick to gain ground on the front-runners of Adams State, Grand Valley State and UMass Lowell. Thanks to a stupendous 1:50.41 split in his 800 meters – two seconds faster than any other third leg – Flott handed the baton to Gillette with Shippensburg in the lead.

Gillette ceded the lead at the start of the 1,600-meter anchor leg to Grand Valley State's Larry Julson, allowing the Lakers' junior runner to set the pace. Trailing him stride for stride until the final two laps, Gillette began his patented kick with about 600 meters to go and began to build a sizable advantage – distancing himself significantly from Julson.

In order to win the championship, Gillette had to finish strong in the final 200 meters as Adams State sophomore Kevin Batt ran the fastest anchor leg of the competition (a sensational 3:59.84) and came close down the stretch. In the end, Gillette had suitably paced himself to finish strong, securing the 1.5-second victory for the Raiders with an impressive 4:03 split.

During SU's impressive three-year DMR streak, the constant has been Gillette – who ran the opening 1,200-meter leg in the previous two seasons. Flott earned his second straight All-America effort with the DMR, running the 800 meters both times.

Last season, the quartet of Gillette, Eric Wolfe, Flott and Stephen Schelander placed third in 9:56.36. In 2011, SU's first national championship, it was Gillette, Kyle Raguz, Pio Mandato and Bryan Beegle who were victorious in 9:57.25.

Also on Friday, senior Herman Kirkland placed 14th in the long jump, posting a top mark of 23 feet, 6 ¾ inches in his third indoor national competition. Kirkland progressively improved on each jump, first landing a mark of 22 feet, 8 ½ inches before leaping 23 feet, 2 ¾ inches on his second attempt.

Kirkland's season PR of 24 feet, 2 ¼ inches was first achieved at Penn State in January and then matched two weekends ago at the PSAC Championships, where he earned his second league crown with the last jump of the competition. The two-time indoor All-American remains SU's indoor record holder with a personal best of 25 feet, 3 ¼ inches achieved in 2011.

On Saturday, sophomore Steve Waithe will compete in the triple jump (1:30 p.m. EST) and Gillette will run individually in the 3K (7 p.m. EST).

Friday Results

DMR
1. Tom Kehl, Andrew Kujawski, Joel Flott, Matt Gillette 9:45.24

Long Jump
14. Herman Kirkland 23' 6 ¾”