ALLENDALE — Michigan Tech senior Clayton Sayen took 11th place in the 1500-meter run during the NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday.

Sayen finished with a time of 3:51.64. American International’s Callum Elson won the event with a time of 3:46.35, followed by Austin Miller (Augustana), Charlie Dannatt, and Connor Southard (Pittsburgh State).

“Clayton ran a great race and it’s hard to see him run that well and then get unlucky, but that’s racing,” said Michigan Tech head coach Kristina Owen. “He got himself in position to do something special, but there are certainly no guarantees in sport or in life. It’s one of the risks of a tactical race, where the field gets tightly packed and there is more contact. He was frustrated immediately after the finish, but he’s so professional and already putting it into greater context. This experience will serve him well next year, where he is going to come back even stronger and faster.”

Sayen, of Houghton, started on the outside and used his customary closing speed to vie for top-five position heading into the final lap. He was involved in a three-runner collision which and was tripped up, effectively taking him out of national title contention. He recovered to place 11th in the 12-athlete field.

Thursday, Sayen ran to seventh place overall in the men’s 1500 meter prelims with a personal best time of 3:43.84. It marked the fourth time Sayen topped the Michigan Tech school record in the event this season. Sayen ran in the faster of the two heats.

Sayen is the 12th Michigan Tech men’s track and field athlete to make an NCAA appearance, and the first in the 1500 run.

Matthew Pahl (10,000 meter run) and Braden Reichl (3000 meter steeplechase) were the last qualifiers in 2019.