McBride anchors Mount Union to D-III 4X400 relay national championship
May 27—The location of the competition didn't matter too much on Saturday afternoon as Mount Union's Matt McBride.
The Conneaut High School graduate anchored Mount Union's men's 4x400 meter relay team to the NCAA Division III national championship in Rochester, N.Y.
"I'll be honest. I was very nervous going into the 4X4," McBride said. "We really wanted to defend the title and had to go up against of bunch of great teams. I'm proud of my teammates and love this team."
The Purple Raiders' included Jason Storm, Tyler Gill, Justin Knock and McBride and together they ran a D-III national-record 3:07.24 to fend off Claremont-Mudd Scripps by .54 seconds (3:07.82).
McBride also narrowly missed a national championship in the 400 meters, running a 46.04 to finish .11 seconds behind Galludet junior Eric Gregory (45.93).
"I'm so proud of what I was able to accomplish in the open 400," McBride said. "It was a great weekend. I'm grateful for the opportunity to compete on this state and do it with the best there is."
McBride moved from fourth last year to second this year and plans to continue to strive for further achievement next year.
McBride intends to use another year of eligibility he has available after the coronavirus pandemic.
"I am going to be running at Mount again and I can't wait to see what else I can accomplish," he said.
Last year, McBride passed numerous teams last year at SPIRE Academy in Harpersfield Township to win the relay.
McBride won the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II 400 meter state championship in 2019. His college freshman year of track shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
McBride followed in the footsteps of his father Bob McBride, who also ran the 400 meters for the Spartans.
