The time echoed in junior Michael Banks’ ears as he went into the final 400 meters of his pacing duties. “30.7.” Too slow. Having fallen off the pace a bit, he knew that he was going to have to pick it up from here on out if redshirt sophomore Andrew Bumbalough was going to have a legitimate shot at breaking four minutes in the storied mile.

While no team scores were being tallied this past weekend at the Penn State National Invitational, freshman Ryan Carter and junior Kenny Mitchell easily found other means to elevate their performances to the next level.