National qualifiers total grows to 17 for Track and Field

Submitted Photo

 

The Oklahoma Christian University men and women’s track and field teams discovered strengths and room for improvement at the State Farm Emporia State Relays, according to Head Coach of Men and Women’s Track and Field Randy Heath.

“This will be a very large meet, a lot of teams, lot of individual event performers, and so the competition will very, very tough,” Heath said before the meet. “So it is a chance for our team to be in a very big meet with lots of different people.”

The Eagles took eighth out of 22 schools with 38 points last Saturday, and the Lady Eagles earned 11th place with 25 points.

For the Lady Eagles, freshman Maci Rich took seventh place out of 43 competitors in the 1,500-meter with a final time of 5:02.14 and placed ninth in the 800-meter with a final time 2:27.28.

Senior Roxann Gonzalez and sophomore Tara Lewis placed fifth and 23rd out of 53 competitors in the 800-meter, posting final times of 2:25.75 and 2:33.45, respectively. Freshman Katie Jones came in 12th place with a final time of 19:58.75 in the 5,000-meter.

Junior Makenzie Brown and senior Roz Hamilton, who both already qualified for the women’s unseeded discus in the Lady Eagles’ meet at Oklahoma Baptist University, placed fourth and fifth last weekend. Brown threw her personal best with a 37.02 meter effort, and ranked as the women’s highest individual finisher in any event at Emporia State.

In the javelin, junior Katie Ostlund and freshman Miranda Ostlund also qualified for the NCCAA Outdoor Championships. The pair earned fifth and 12th place with final distances of 40.15 meters and 37.21 meters, respectively.

The Lady Eagles’ relay team, consisting of senior Jerisha Fields, senior Andrea Dennis, senior Wilmina Gley and senior Somer Helms took 10th place for the 4×100 relays in 50:80. In the 4×400 relay the Lady Eagles stepped up, finishing in seventh with a time of 4:12.90.

“I think the relay team did well, but we still need to improve,” Gley said. “The 4×100 relay did great, and the teamwork was marvelous. The 4×400 also did well.”

Gley finished ranked 36th in 27.89.

“I feel like I did above average,” Gley said. “I think this was a long, good meet with lots of competitive schools and a great chance to improve times. Unfortunately I did not qualify in my events. I am still working on it. I was not satisfied with my performance. I know there’s a lot of strength hidden in me; all I need to do is run fast and be aggressive.”

Sophomore Kara Drewke qualified in the 400 hurdles, taking 21st place in 1:11.85.

Helms qualified for nationals in the 200-meter with a final time of 27.00 seconds. Junior Sarah DiBiasi leaped 1.50 meters in the high jump to earn herself a qualification for the national meet.

“I wasn’t thrilled with my performance today in my individual event because it wasn’t my best time,” Drewke said. “The weather was a bit colder than expected for the meet. I ran qualifying times for my 400-hurdle event in the first two outdoor meets, although my time for this meet was slightly under the qualifying mark, which is why I was not happy with my race. However, I will just continue to work on my speed and my form over the hurdles.”

On the men’s side, sophomore Bryant Keirns and freshman Kyle Broaddrick qualified for the NCCAA Outdoor Championships. Keirns earned first place out of 27 competitors with a final time of 14:59.59, earning 10 points. Broaddrick came in fifth place with a final time of 15:31.16.

In the 200-meter, freshman Austin Kruzich finished 25th out of 52 competitors with a final time of 23.02, and junior Jamal George took 29th in 23.34.

In the 1,500-meter, senior Brayden Barrientez took sixth place out of 52 competitors with a final time of 4:01.15. In the hammer throw, senior Larry Brown earned fifth out of 48 competitors with a final distance of 54.87 meters, his best throw of the season, and scored eight points. In the 400-hurdle, senior Winston Ogletree came in 11th place with a season-best time of 56.51.

Freshman Josh Jones posted a national qualifying time of 51.48 seconds in the 400-meter. Junior Jamal George ran a season best 11.22 seconds in the 100-meter.

In the 5,000-meter race, four of the top 10 finalists were Oklahoma Christian athletes. Of the Eagles present in the top 10, Keirns was ranked the highest, taking second place in 14:59.59. Broaddrick, with a time of 15:32.13, earned fifth.

Oklahoma Christian’s next meet will be the David Suenam Gorilla Classic in Pittsburg, Kans., on April 12. After, only three weeks of the season remain.