Junior Brayden Burleigh qualified for the finals in the mile to highlight the first day of competition for the Shippensburg University men's indoor track & field team at the 2014 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships being held at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Burleigh was one of five Raiders who competed on Friday and posted a time of 4:10.99 – just two one-hundredths of a second off his collegiate PR set at Virginia Tech (Brayden once ran 4:07.79 on a banked track in Blacksburg that converts to 4:10.97 on a flat surface). It puts him in the No. 4 position entering Saturday's mile finals (nine runners qualified).

After sticking with the pack for the first two-thirds of the race, Burleigh looked strong and began a convincing kick down the stretch that resulted in a fourth-place finish in the second heat – which proved to be much faster than the first heat. The finish of the mile's second heat nearly went four wide as multiple runners, including Burleigh and Mansfield's Mike Robinson, moved outside in an attempt to pass the pace-setters.

Two other Raiders competed on the track. Junior Eric Bologa, this year's PSAC Champion in the 400 meters, ran 49.07 seconds (just .18 seconds off his school-record PR) to finish in the 12th position. It was his second appearance at the national championships, following an outdoor qualification last year in the 400-meter hurdles.

Senior Matt Kujawski made his NCAA Championships debut in the 200 meters and posted a time of 22.08 seconds, finishing in 15th place. The two-time defending PSAC Champion at 200 meters finishes his indoor career having set the school record at 21.92 seconds at the conference championships.

Redshirt-sophomore LeQuan Chapman and senior Chris Nelson competed in field events Friday. Chapman made his second NCAA Indoor Championships appearance in the long jump and posted a top mark on the day of 23 feet (7.01 meters), which resulted in a 13th-place finish. Chapman placed eighth at last year's indoor championships with West Chester.

Nelson, making his NCAA Championships debut, landed two throws of more than 18 meters. His top toss soared 60 feet, 9 ½ inches and slotted him in 10th place overall. He finishes his indoor career with a school-record weight throw of 62 feet, 11 ¼ inches.

On Saturday, Chapman and junior Matthew Terry will compete in the triple jump at 2 p.m., followed by junior Grant Smith in the shot put at 2:05 p.m. Burleigh will run the mile at 4 p.m. and sophomore Jalen Ramsey will high jump at 4:55 p.m.