It took another school record, but St. Ambrose freshman John Darmody closed the gap on the field and went from eighth place to sixth place in the matter of 300 meters to earn All-American honors in the mile run at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. Darmody broke his own school record he set in the preliminary round Friday (4:19.52), finishing with a time of 4:16.26.

"That was one of the smartest and gutsiest races I've ever seen," SAU head track and field coach Dan Tomlin said. "John knew what he needed to do, kept his eyes on that All-American spot and was able to enjoy his closing 50 meters."

When Darmody passed Westmont's Jacob Goodin with 100 meters to go, the pack fell off his back and as he crossed the finish line, Darmody threw a fist in the air, celebrating his accomplishment. The freshman from Seattle who prepped at O'Dea was the top freshman in the country this year, and the only freshman to make the mile finals.

Darmody is only the second Fighting Bee to earn Indoor All-American honors (Rob Firrell, 2002 & 2003).