BIRMINGHAM, AL (March 10, 2023) – Junior
Luke Botsford of the Tufts University men's indoor track & field team finished 13th in the 400-meter preliminaries at the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships today.
Running in the third heat of the event on the banked track at the Birmingham CrossPlex, Botsford clocked a time of 48.52 seconds that was third out of four in the heat. He led the race at the 200-meter mark (21.95), but was edged at the line by Hayden Gagnon from Concordia-Moorhead (48.24) and Jacob Parent from Bethen (Minn.) in 48.29 seconds.
With the eight fastest times out of five heats overall advancing to tomorrow's final, Botsford ended up just a third of a second out of qualifying. Tyrell Pierce of Knox was the final qualifier in 48.19 seconds.
This was the fourth NCAA meet appearance overall for Botsford, who has qualified in the 400 for each of the indoor and outdoor seasons in which the meet has been held during his career.
Tomorrow in Birmingham Tufts junior
Harry Rienecker-Found will compete in the NCAA high jump starting at 4:45 pm Eastern time.
--JUMBOS--
