Lee University’s Christian Noble, a Mt. Vernon graduate and two-time NCAA DII national champion, broke two NCAA DII indoor track and field records in the 1-mile and 3,000-meter run in February. (Photo provided by Tara Noble)
BOSTON, Mass. — Christian Noble’s record-setting collegiate career continues to pick up speed.
The Lee University All-American distance runner set a pair of NCAA Division-II records at the 2022 Boston University Last Chance Meet on Sunday in what has been a whirlwind month-plus.
Noble, a Mt. Vernon High School graduate, finished eighth overall in the 1-mile indoor run in Boston, posting a time of 3 minutes, 56.10 seconds to break the NCAA Division-II track and field record of 3:56.74.
The former DII record was set by Kip Cheruiyot of Mount St. Mary’s on Jan. 18, 1986.
Noble’s time in the event also lowered his Lee University school-record mark, formerly at 3:59.70, which he set this past January.
He also bested his former school-record in the mile of 4:00.60 on Jan. 16 at the UAB Vulcan Invite with a 4:00.26, which met the NCAA Division II qualifying standards.
Later on Sunday, Noble chased down his own NCAA Division-II record in the 3,000-meter run, which stood at 7:51.46. He won the race at the Last Chance Meet with a new-record time of 7:50.98.
In late January, Noble had another record-breaking performance in the 1-mile while competing in the Vanderbilt Invitational and the Samford Univerity Open.
Noble lowered his record time for a second straight week through the weekend of Jan. 23.
Previously, he cut 0.36 seconds off his school-record time before slicing another 0.56 seconds to become the first Lee runner in history to come in under four minutes with a fourth-place finish in 3:59.70 at the Vanderbilt Invitational.
Noble, a graduate student, earned 2021 NCAA All-American honors and became a two-time indoor track national champion in both the 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter runs in 2021. He set the DII record in the 5K last year by posting a time of 13:37.39.
Cougar diver finishes 19th at state
Greenfield-Central junior Alexander Jahrsdoerfer tallied 272.45 points to place 19th overall at the IHSAA state meeting during Saturday’s 1-meter diving competition.
Jahrsdoerfer advanced to the diving competition’s semifinal round Saturday morning and just fell short of the top-16 finalist round inside the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI.
Danville junior Holden Higbie won the state title with a finals score of 535.75. His semifinal total set the pace at 373.00. Fishers senior William Jensen was second with a 477.55. Fishers senior Sebastian Otero placed third at 469.00.
Jahrsdoerfer placed behind Elkhart’s Nick Hardy (283.05) and Bloomington North’s Max Miller (272.65). Concord’s Ethan Smith was the 16th diver at 289.20.
Jahrsdoerfer reached the state finals by finishing fourth at the Brownsburg Diving Regional on Feb. 22 with a final score of 370.15. Higbie won the regional with a score of 589.35.
At the New Palestine Sectional, Jahrsdoerfer won behind a semifinal score of 279.15 and a finals tally of 380.70.
Strege 10th at diving regional
Anderson University junior Halle Strege, a Mt. Vernon grad, finished 10th in the 1-meter diving event at the NCAA Division-III Central Diving Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich., Friday.
Strege recorded an 11-dive score of 377.35 and an average of 34.30 points per dive. She finished 13th in the regional as a freshman.
Strege’s best dive was a 104B 2 Somersault Pike dive on the sixth dive that scored 41.40 points.
“I gave my best effort and I did better than my freshman year and I take great joy in that achievement,” she said. “Despite being out of competition for the season last year, I think I competed the best I could and I will continue to use that drive for the next season.”
