Ryan Nealis ran the mile in 4:11.99 at Tufts on March 7, 2020, breaking into the field that will compete in the NCAA Championships next week. (Jay Hartshorn)

MEDFORD, Mass. -- The Bates men's track and field team took great advantage of the Tufts Final National Qualifying Meet on Saturday, with performances that should net the Bobcats at least one and possibly three more entries in next weekend's NCAA Division III Indoor Championships.

Nationals take place March 13-14 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C. Twenty athletes per individual event are entered to compete, and 12 teams in each relay event.

Junior Ryan Nealis (London, England) led all 15 competitors in the mile, finishing in a personal-record time of 4:11.99, moving into 10th place on Bates' all-time performance list in the event. More importantly, entering the weekend, the time would have ranked sixth in Division III, making his place at nationals seemingly a lock.

Senior Justin Levine (Boca Raton, Fla.) ran a blazing personal record in the 5,000 meters at 14:42.51, moving into ninth place on Bates' all-time performance list. Levine entered the weekend ranked 29th in the country at 14:48.83, whereas Saturday's time would have ranked 19th nationally.

Sophomore Bart Rust (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) was third among 16 runners in the 3,000 meters in a personal-record time of 8:30.61, which moves him into seventh place on the team's all-time performance list. Entering this weekend, the time would have ranked 24th in the country, giving Rust possibly an outside chance at claiming one of 20 spots, depending on event entries in the 3,000 and other distance events.

Entries for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships will be announced on Sunday. Junior John Rex (North Andover, Mass.) and senior Brendan Donahue (Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.) have secure holds on places in the weight throw and heptathlon, where they are ranked sixth and 15th in the country, respectively.