By: Bill Morgal, SU Sports Information Director
Gallery: (5-21-2026) 2026 Men's Outdoor T&F at NCAAs (Day 1)
The Shippensburg University men's outdoor track & field team had its share of strong performances Thursday at the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which took place on a cool and damp day at Emporia State (Kansas) University's Francis G. Welsh Stadium.
Among the most prominent highlights included the 4x100-meter relay of
Ni'male Greenwood,
Gabriel Lewis,
Lavar Jackson and
Ke'Aune Green qualifying for Saturday's finals by virtue of a fourth-place qualifying time and
Tommy Crum Jr. also making it back for Saturday's finals of the 1,500 meters.
On Friday, Green will be the only Raider in competition – he will compete in the 200-meter prelims at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
EVENT BREAKDOWN
100
9.
Gabriel Lewis 10.51
15.
Ke'Aune Green 10.63
Lewis and Green were unable to make it back to the finals in the 100-meter dash on a day in which the conditions were not friendly to the 22 runners in the field, as no one in Thursday's prelims was close to a season best.
Competing in the first heat, Lewis had a tough start out of the blocks and worked hard to try to overcome it – crossing the finish line in 10.51 seconds. Green, who ran in the third and final heat, clocked in at 10.63 seconds. Lewis ended up just .04 seconds shy of making it back.
In a comparison of last year's national championship prelims to this year's prelims – the fastest time in Thursday's prelims – 10.31 seconds (Carson-Newman's Rylan Jordan) – would have placed 19th last season at Colorado State Pueblo.
Weather was likely a contributing factor. Thursday's races took place in cool, damp conditions and with no wind advantages, whereas last year's races in Pueblo occurred on a warm, dry day and featured a strong tailwind to boost the runners out of the blocks.
In 2024, the last time nationals were held at Emporia State, qualifiers had to run 10.16 seconds or faster, and all three of the qualifying heats featured a tail wind of 2.1 meters per second or greater.
Lewis completes his junior season as an individual competitor as a Second Team All-American by virtue of his ninth-place finish and having set the all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record of 10.03 seconds in April at Seth Grove Stadium. It is also his second All-America Second Team finish of the calendar year, having placed 10th at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-meter dash (6.71 seconds).
Green's season best and qualifying time in the 100 meters – 10.28 seconds – achieved in the same heat as Lewis's conference record in April at Seth Grove Stadium – ranks as the No. 2 time in school history. He will also complete his debut season as a Second Team All-American by virtue of placing among the Top 16.
1500 METERS
6.
Tommy Crum Jr. 3:49.20q
In a race that had little room for error (the 12 qualifying times were separated by just 1.5 seconds overall), Crum Jr. took advantage of his position in the second and final heat and approached his run having an idea of the tactics and time needed to qualify.
The seven fastest overall times from prelims were all in the second heat – Crum Jr. was sixth in the second heat and the final man in a six-man pack that crossed the finish line within the scant margin of two-tenths of a second of each other. Pittsburg State's Dylan Sprecker ran 3:49.00, Crum Jr. ran 3:49.20, and four other runners were in between.
Crum Jr. is the first SU men's athlete to qualify for nationals in the 1,500 meters since Brayden Burleigh in 2015 and is now the first Raider to make it back for the 1,500-meter finals at nationals since Ryan Spangler in 2013. Stephen Schelander also made it back for the finals in 2012.
He is now seeking to become the first Raider All-American in the event since Matt Gillette placed seventh in a rain-soaked race at Cal State Stanislaus back in 2011.
Crum Jr. will toe the line at 4:55 p.m. EDT on Saturday in the finals.
10,000 METERS
17.
Garrett Quinan 30:33.53
Quinan, in his final collegiate 10K, exceeded his seed by one spot and came within one place of an All-America Second Team finish – crossing the line 17th with a time of 30:33.53.
A three-time defending PSAC Champion in the 10K, Quinan wraps up his final campaign with a season best of 29:37.90 that was recorded in April at Bucknell and a lifetime best of 29:37.68 (set in his junior year at Bucknell) that ranks No. 3 all-time in school history.
Quinan was the first Raider to compete at the national championships in the 10K since Kieran Sutton in 2015.
4x100-METER RELAY
4.
Ni'male Greenwood,
Gabriel Lewis,
Lavar Jackson,
Ke'Aune Green 39.92q
The 4x100-meter relay of Greenwood, Lewis, Jackson and Green sped around the track with a time of 39.92 seconds – earning an automatic qualifier for the finals by being the second-fastest time in the second of the two heats.
The Raiders did so despite a steady rain impacting the race.
Overall, SU will be the No. 4 seed in Saturday's finals, which are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT.
It is the third straight time that the relay has broken the 40-second mark; SU ran 39.61 seconds in prelims at the 2026 PSAC Championships for its current all-time league record and followed that up with a time of 39.88 seconds in the finals of the conference meet.
Carson-Newman ran the fastest time in prelims (39.50 seconds), followed by West Texas A&M (39.75 seconds), Pittsburg State (39.87 seconds) and the Raiders (39.92 seconds). The Gorillas edged the Raiders by .05 seconds for the fastest time in the second heat.
SU is bidding for its second All-America honor in school history in the 4x100-meter relay, with the 2021 squad being the only Raider quartet to do so thus far.
