BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Five members of the St. Olaf College men's track and field team were in action on the opening day of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday at Birmingham Crossplex.

Senior Cullen Moore, senior Lance Nemecek, junior Christian Fells, and first year Paxon Myers all earned Second Team All-America honors with top-16 performances in the prelims of the 800-meter run, while senior Kevin Turlington ran in the finals of the 5,000-meter run. Turlington, who had been battling the flu over the last couple of days, was forced to drop out of the 5K after one mile.

Moore posted the top finish of the day for St. Olaf with his 12th-place performance in the 800-meter run (1:53.28) as he placed fourth in heat two. Nemecek took fourth in the third heat and was 13th overall (1:53.47), while Fells was sixth in the opening heat and 14th overall (1:53.97). Myers ended the day in 16th (1:54.78) after taking sixth in the third and final heat. All four Oles moved up one spots in the overall results after one runner from Nemecek's heat was disqualified upon protest.

The four qualifiers were the most in a single indoor event in program history and were the first Oles to run in the 800 since 2001. In order to qualify for Saturday's final, runners needed to finish in the top two in their heat or post one of the next two fastest times.

Despite battling the flu, Turlington completed 1,600 meters of the 5,000-meter run before withdrawing from the race. The senior, who placed 11th in the event last year, was in 17th place (4:33.24) when he dropped out.

St. Olaf will begin its outdoor season by sending a contingent of runners to the WashU Distance Carnival on Thursday and Friday, March 26-27 in St. Louis, Mo.