The Rams set the pace with their blazing first-place finish last month at the prestigious Yale Invitational, their time of 10:17.40 outdistancing Shaker High School of Albany, N.Y. (10:21.54).

The clocking placed Marshfield at the top of the national rankings in the distance medley, which consists of 4,000 meters/2.5 miles divided into varying distances: 400, 800, 1,200, and 1,600 meters.

Senior Kevin Thomas (1,200) leads off, followed by senior Ryan Talanian (400), junior Brendan Doherty (800), and senior Joel Hubbard (1,600). The quartet broke the previous school record (10:44) with their 10:26 finish in a meet at Dartmouth before bettering that mark by nine seconds at Yale.

The Rams have built a record of success over four seasons under coach Dennis Sheppard: four straight Atlantic Coast League titles and 24 straight dual-meet victories. But this is the first time a Marshfield track athlete, or team, according to Sheppard, has been ranked number one nationally.

“We knew it was possible going in,’’ said Sheppard. “We wanted to get a good qualifying time that would put us in the seeded heat at the nationals, and that’s just what we did.’’

The relay at Yale was tight until Hubbard, running the anchor leg, rallied from 10 meters back to overtake the leader from St. Anthony’s and put on a winning burst with three laps to go.

“We went out very fast with a 59-second quarter but I still felt pretty good,’’ said Hubbard. “We bided our time in the middle laps until I made my move.’’

His 4:14 leg matched his personal record for the distance, set outdoors last spring.

Thomas (1,200) led off with a 3:09, Talanian ran the 400 in 51.5 and Doherty clocked a 2:01 in the 800.

“Every leg has to be solid,’’ said Sheppard. “You can’t have a bad leg. If you fall behind in that first leg - the 1,200 meters, in this case - you’ll have a hard time catching up.’’

The 1,200 is considered a “tweener’’ distance, because it is not run either indoors or outdoors.

“In our case, Kevin Thomas is strong at a lot of distances, but he has the endurance you need to be effective at 1,200 meters,’’ said Sheppard.

Showcasing his versatility, Thomas won the 2-mile in 9:22.21 at the Mass. State Track Coaches Association (MSTCA) Elite Meet Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center. Hubbard skipped the meet as a precaution while recovering from an injury.

Thomas said the team’s performance at Yale is a confidence boost for the nationals. “I think there’s going to be a number of teams fearing us and watching out for us.’’

In dual meet competition, Talanian is unbeaten this season in both the 300 and the long jump.

He enjoys it when he can train his sights - and his legs - on one event.

“It’s definitely easier when you can focus on just one thing,’’ he said. “We like what we’ve done so far, but we think we can go even faster.’’

Doherty runs the 400 or 600 meters in dual meets, but works on his endurance in bumping up to the 800 for the relay.

“Nobody wants to be the one to let the other guys down,’’ he said.

Hubbard, who also runs cross-country and outdoor track, said running at the nationals was “one of our goals. Now people will be gunning for us,’’ he said.

Marshfield High athletic director Lou Silva credits Sheppard for instilling an unselfish approach in his athletes.

“Those four kids can all go a long way in their individual events, and in this case they sacrifice a bit to work as a team,’’ said Silva. “The coach has instilled in them that it’s team first, and that’s the way they think.’’

Marshfield also captured the recent MSTCA Division 2 distance medley relay in 10:39 with sophomores Matt Meehan and Justin Patterson joining Hubbard and Thomas.

“I think our success is a testimony to the depth of our program and the flexibility of the kids,’’ said Sheppard.

Rich Fahey can be reached at fahey.rich2@gmail.com.