LA CROSS, Wis. - The men's track and field team opened the first day of the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships with John Mangold competing in the preliminaries of the 1500 meter run.

Mangold's first career appearance at the NCAA nationals ended with a 15th place finish in the preliminaries of the event.

After the first of the four laps, Mangold produced a split of 48.943 seconds and was third in the his heat.

Mangold was leading at the midpoint with a split of 1:53.868 and slipped to seventh at 2:55.705 after the third split.

Mangold completed the race in the seventh position in the heat with a time of 3:57.789.

Greenville's participation in the nationals will continue on Friday with Greg Mitchell competing in the high jump and Andrew Sharp in the 800 meter run.