Eastern New Mexico middle distance runner Ivar Moinat will join elite company on Saturday as the junior from Amsterdam, Netherlands was selected to compete in the seeded 800-meter event at the Drake Relays.
Moinat will join a field that consists of 12 NCAA Division I runners after posting the 10th best time in NCAA Division II this year with a 1:51.03 (converted to 1:50.66 due to elevation) at the West Texas A&M Classic & Multi on April 5.
One of the most prestigious collegiate track and field meets in the country, Moinat will be chasing history as former Olympic bronze medalist and member of the ENMU Hall of Honors Mike Boit not only competed in the Drake Relays, but was selected to the Drake Relays Hall of Fame Class of 1981.
Eastern has a proud tradition of running in the Drake Relays as former Greyhound great Rex Maddaford still holds the meet record in the Mile event with a 4:01.40 set during the 1970 meet.
In his third season at Eastern New Mexico, Moinat has cemented his name in the ENMU record books. During the outdoor season, Moinat was part of the 4×400-meter relay team with Travonne Armstead, Brandon Chavez, and Andrew Villegas that broke the school record at the West Texas A&M Invitational with a time of 3:15.48. His mark in the 800-meter at the WTAMU Classic & Multi is the second-best in the outdoor record books, only behind Boit while also holding the third-best marks in the 400-meter (48.41) and the 4×400-meter relay (3:18.44) that was set during the 2017 season.
Moinat currently holds four indoor records at ENMU, three of which were set during the 2019 campaign, including a 48.74 in the 400-meter event at the Red Raider Invitational, a 1:51.00 in the 800-meter at the Texas Tech Open, and the indoor 4×400-meter relay record of 3:15.98 at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships. Moinat has also possesses the 600-meter record of 1:20.81 from the 2018 Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
During the indoor season, Moinat became just the 10th male athlete at Eastern New Mexico since 1971 to earn indoor All-American honors after placing seventh in the 800-meter final at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas on March 9.
The Drake Relays should provide a strong tune-up for Moinat heading into the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Championships next week as he will be gunning for his fifth All-LSC accolade. Moinat will be competing on his home track as Eastern will be hosting this year’s championship meet from May 2-4.
At the Drake Relays, Moinat is scheduled to run the 800-meter event at 2:05 p.m. on Saturday.
