BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Junior Demetri Lord of the St. Olaf College men's track and field team rose three spots on day two to finish 16th in the heptathlon at the 2023 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, as the two-day competition ended on Saturday at the Birmingham Crossplex.

After sitting 19th in the standings through the first four events on Friday, Lord climbed the standings over the final three events to place 16th with 4,448 points in the field of 20 competitors. The junior was appearing in his first national meet and was St. Olaf's first indoor national qualifier in the combined events since Ryan Doyle '09 was ninth in the pentathlon in 2009.

Lord started the day with a 10th-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles by placing second in his four-person heat in 8.80 seconds. The result moved the junior up to 16th place, where he remained for the duration of the day.

In the pole vault, Lord cleared 3.50 meters (11' 5 ¾") on his second attempt before bowing out at 3.60 meters (11' 9 ¾"). He concluded the grueling seven-event competition with a 12th-place finish in the 1,000-meter run in 2:54.04, which was Lord's second-fastest time in the event in his collegiate career.

St. Olaf begins its outdoor season at the CSB/SJU Invitational in Collegeville on Thursday, April 6.