Nolan Moeller makes more history – freshman finishes 7th in 800 meter run; Jolie McClellan 14th in javelin at NCAA-II Championships

EMPORIA, Kan. – Redshirt freshman Nolan Moeller became the first Drury men’s outdoor track & field All-American in program history with his seventh place finish in the 800 meter run at the NCAA-II National Championship meet on Saturday in Emporia, Kansas. Drury senior Jolie McClellan, also competing on Saturday, came in 14^th in the women’s javelin.
 
In Saturday’s 800 meter finals, Moeller posted a time of 1:51.57 and finished ahead of Ashland’s Daylen Madison, who crossed the line in 1:54.48. Defending national champion Wes Ferguson from Nebraska-Kearney won and broke a 29-year-old facility record with a time of 1:47.84. Harry Ross-Hughes from Lake Erie was second (1:48.88), and Samuel Idiens of Charleston (WV) was third (1:49.06). Moeller’s top-eight finish gives him NCAA-II All-American status, and he is the first Drury’s men’s outdoor track & field athlete to receive those honors.
 
Moeller, a product of Ozark, Mo., qualified for Saturday’s final with a sixth-place finish among 18 runners in Friday night’s preliminary heats, posting a time of 1:50.82. His appearance marked the first time a Drury men’s track & field athlete qualified for the national outdoor track & field championships.
 
McClellan came in 14^th in the javelin with a throw of 44.85 meters (147 feet, 1 inch). Her throw outdistanced Missouri Southern’s Adrianne Casey by 0.29 meters. McClellan, a senior from Raymore, Missouri, narrowly missed 12^th place as Mackenzie Meyer from Missouri Southern had a throw of 44.91 meters, and Olivia Baumberger was 13^th (44.86 meters).
 
McClellan was competing in her second national championship meet. She qualified in 2022 and finished in 19^th place that season.
 
2024 marked only the second time in Drury track & field history they qualified multiple student-athletes to the national championship and it is the first time the Panthers have had both genders represented at the national meet. Head coach Luke Karamitros took over the program in January of 2024.
 
 
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