Men's track earns All-American honors at Championships

Kentrell Miller rounding the curve. — Freshman Kentrell Miller rounds the curve at the Indoor National Meet in Cedarville, Ohio. *Photo by Roxi Gonzalez*

The Eagles track and field team, led by its relay teams, was honored with two All-American selections at the NCCAA Indoor Championships in Cedarville, Ohio.

After the first day of the meet, Oklahoma Christian University placed third in the team standings.

The Eagles were looking to put up points in the 5,000-meter race and they did, they finished fourth in the top 10. Timothy Zeurcher finished fourth with a time of 15:16.52. Sisay Gillock and Bryant Kierns finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Gillock at fifth with a time of 15:18.62 and Kierns at sixth in 15:26.18. Evan Durrill placed 10th with a time of 15:48.44.

Kierns said the practices leading up to this meet were a little less intense.

“We were just trying to be fresh and rested for this big meet,” Kierns said. “We lowered the intensity a little bit and focused more on mechanics and technique.”

The Oklahoma Christian 4×200 relay team entered the national meet leading the nation in their respective race. The group of Landon Huslig, Kentrell Miller, Thomas Ducat and Jamal George were upset by Bethel University and Southern Wesleyan University, putting the Eagles in third with a time of 1:31.53, which still earned All-American honors.

The second day of the weekend meet proved to be the more successful day, with two runner-up finishes for Oklahoma Christian.

Brennym Kaelin finished second in the 3,000-meters. The 4×400 relay team also finished second in its race, behind host Cedarville University.

The Eagles’ 4×400 relay team of Huslig, Miller, Joshua Jones and Ducat earned All-American honors with its second-place finish in the race. They were edged slightly by Emmanuel, after starting the race with the lead.

Track and Field Head Coach Randy Heath said his relay team could have used a little more track to catch up.

“If we [had] one more lap after the finish line, we would have won that thing,” Heath said.

Heath said his relay team was the team-to-beat at this meet.

“People were gunning for us in the relays,” Heath said. “Having that No. 1 ranking puts a target on you for sure.”

Roberto Diaz raced in the 3,000-meter and placed fourth with a time of 8:43.94 and Gillock added points for the Eagles, placing seventh with a time of 8:55.18.

This meet concludes Oklahoma Christian’s indoor track season. The first outdoor meet is on March 12.