La Crosse, Wisc. — Owen Sondag earned All-America second team honors in the 10,000 meters to lead the MIT men's track and field team on Thursday at the 2026 NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
THE BASICS:
TOP PERFORMERS - Track Events:
- 1500 Meters (Prelims): Tim Neumann was 9th in the opening heat and 19th overall in 3:54.78 and did not advance to Saturday's final. The first heat only saw the first four automatic qualifiers go through while a blistering second heat advanced eight qualifiers to the final.
- 10,000 Meters (Finals): Owen Sondag worked his way up past the midway point of the pack to finish 10th overall in his first NCAA track and field appearance. Sondag was last at the 4,000-meter mark but moved up six spots by the time he circled to 5,200 meters. He steadily improved over the second half of the race, moving to 11th with 800 meters to run before closing with a tenth-place time of 29:52.97.
- 3000 Meter Steeplechase (Prelims): Luke Rupert finished 22nd overall and did not advance to Saturday's final. Rupert, in his NCAA debut, was 11th in the opening heat with a time of 9:20.79.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Neumann was making his fifth NCAA track and field appearance and his second at outdoor nationals. He was ninth in the 1,500m in 2025.
- Sondag had three consecutive first-place finishes in the 10,000 meters entering the NCAA Championships.
- Rupert was making his NCAA debut in the Steeplechase after recording five top-ten finishes in the event over the past two months, including a first-place finish at the NEWMAC Championships.
NEXT UP:
- MIT returns for the second day of the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships tomorrow at the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Engineers have three student-athletes scheduled to compete.
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