At Saturday’s Millrose Games, Binghamton University two-time All-American Erik van Ingen found himself up against some elite competition. Racing against some of the world’s finest runners in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile, the fifth-year senior once again impressed, finishing fifth overall and second among collegiate runners. His time of 3:56.37 snapped the school record and qualified van Ingen for the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 9-10.
Van Ingen has now qualified for the NCAA Championships a total of six times. He placed fifth in the mile at last year’s NCAA Indoor Meet while taking sixth at the Outdoor Championships in the 1,500.
Saturday marked the third time in van Ingen’s career that he has completed the mile in under four minutes. He set the old school record with his previous best of 3:57.11, which he achieved at Boston University’s Valentine’s Meet on Feb. 12 of last year.
Two-time Olympic distance runner Matt Centrowitz took first place in the Wanamaker Mile with a time of 3:53.92, which broke the 12-year old Armory record set by Mark Carroll of Ireland in 2000. Miles Batty of Brigham Young University took second (3:54.54), snapping the previous NCAA record set in 2009. Batty placed first in the mile at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Van Ingen and the BU track and field team are set to head to the America East Championships at Boston University on Feb. 17-18. The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 9-10 at Boise State University.