Nick Lyndaker put together a strong run at the NCAA outdoor championships, but had his season come to an end in the 1500-meter run's first round at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio on Thursday afternoon.

He battled a strong field in the first heat of the event, where the top four earn automatic qualifiers to the final on Saturday. He placed fifth with a time of 3:54.91.

After beginning the race near the rear of the pack, Lyndaker started to creep up into the top half of the pack, and was in third position just before the 1100-meter mark. Then, after getting boxed in by a group of runners in the middle of the pack, Lyndaker crossed the finish line in fifth and would have to wait for the results of the second heat to attempt entering the final via a time qualifier. Ultimately, the second heat ran slightly faster which ended Lyndaker's season in the first round.

It ends a remarkable year for the Canton, N.Y. native in which he won a national championship in the indoor season, and set a program record in the 1500-meter run outdoors at the SLU Twilight Invite earlier this season.

The NCAA championships now continues through Saturday. Lyndaker was St. Lawrence's lone representation at the national meet.

NCAA Division III Men's 1500-Meter – First Round Results

Heat 1 Qualifiers

1. Ryan Hagan, SUNY Geneseo – 3:52.68 Q
2. Tor Hotung-Davidsen, Lynchburg – 3:53.16 Q
3. Sam Verkerke, Wis.-Eau Claire – 3:54.12 Q
4. Rabbit Barnes, Colorado College – 3:54.55 Q
5. Nick Lyndaker, St. Lawrence – 3:54.91
6. Jack Czarnecki, RPI – 3:55.59
7. Jefferson Wright, Pomona-Pitzer – 3:56.00
8. Matthew Denton, Carnegie Mellon – 3:56.81
9. Nash Merklein, Wis.-La Crosse – 3:57.87
10. Scott Masterson, Emory – 3:59.01
11. Graeme Maclean, UC Santa Cruz – 3:59.13

Heat 2 Qualifiers

1. Quinn White, Pomona-Pitzer – 3:50.77 Q
2. Eric Anderson, UC Santa Cruz – 3:51.39 Q
3. Sam Llaneza, Lynchburg – 3:51.74 Q
4. Tim Neumann, MIT – 3:51.83 Q
5. Vincent Giumenti, Mount Union – 3:52.14 q
6. James Corbett, Washington University – 3:52.57 q
7. Adam Shaw, MSOE – 3:53.02 q
8. Jonathan Zavala, Brockport – 3:53.38 q
9. Aidan Arthur, George Fox – 3:54.18
10. Derek Penzkover, Wis.-Stevens Point – 3:55.18
11. Matthew Short, Carnegie Mellon – 3:55.69

Key:

• Q = automatic qualifier by place
• q = time qualifier