Freshman qualified for nationals on sixth jump of his college career
GOSHEN, Ind. — Freshman Simon Graber Miller of the Goshen College men’s track and field team is the Maple Leaf Athlete of the Week for the week ending December 9.
Graber Miller qualified for the NAIA national championships Saturday when he cleared 6 feet, 6 1/4 inches in the high jump at Indiana Tech’s Aaron Porter Invitational. He came within half an inch of matching the school record established by Samuel Jones in 2012. In a second event Saturday, he finished 18th in the long jump.
The Bethany Christian High School graduate, who cleared 6-7 to finish fifth at the Indiana state meet last June, becomes Goshen’s first qualifier for the NAIA indoor national championship, which begins February 28 in Brookings, South Dakota. He is the first Maple Leaf to qualify for nationals in a field event since Kyle Mishler was a high-jump All-American in 2014.
Goshen returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 18, with meets at Trine University and Grand Valley State University.
The Maple Leaf Athlete of the Week is selected each week by a panel of Goshen College administrators, coaches, media and faculty. Due to final exams, there will be no Athlete of the Week on Dec. 17.
Goshen College is an affordable, nationally-ranked Christian liberal arts college in Northern Indiana known for leadership in intercultural and international education, sustainability and social justice.
The Maple Leafs compete in 14 varsity sports in the NAIA’s highly competitive Crossroads League and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, continuing a tradition of intercollegiate athletics that dates to 1956 and included women’s competition nearly a decade before Title IX. For more information on GC athletics, visit www.GoLeafs.net and follow the Maple Leafs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @GCMapleLeafs.