In the first Great American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship on Feb. 23, the Oklahoma Christian University women’s track and field team walked away with two first-time individual conference championships.
Hosted on the University of Oklahoma campus, junior Destiny Grace won first in the shot put with a throw of 42-4 1/4 to beat Harding University’s Cooper Monn by almost three inches. Last season, Grace was the outdoor Great American Conference Champion in the shot put.
Senior Maia Zeno placed fifth in the shot put, earning All-Great American Conference second team honors with a throw of 40-1 1/2.
Oklahoma Christian’s second conference champion came in the 60-meter. Junior Lawanda Harvey placed third in the preliminary round. In the final, she covered the 60 meters in 7.75 seconds, just .02 seconds faster than the second-place winner, Harding’s Ashley Reinert. This honor marked the first conference title for Harvey and her seventh All-Great American Conference first team honor. Harvey was also named the Eagle of the Week for her performance.
In the triple jump, sophomore Temar Smith broke a 31-year-old school record by .75 of an inch. Smith jumped a 35-8 to solidify a new record in the books.
The Lady Eagles finished the meet with 62 points and placed third out of eight teams at the conference indoor meet.
Junior Lawanda Harvey shared her insight on the indoor track season and her personal performance at the conference meet.
Q: What were your emotions going into the conference meet this past weekend?
A: “Going into this race, I was super sore and my hamstrings were tight, so I was a little worried. I had been sick the whole week and was unable to work out for two days, so I was nervous that it would translate onto the track.”
Q: Did you think you were going to take the championship coming into the meet?
A: “Going into the meet, I didn’t have the fastest time, but I knew I had a real chance at winning it.”
Q: What are your personal goals for this season?
A: “My personal goals for this season are to qualify for nationals and win conference in my races and possibly as a team.”
Q: What did you want to improve on this season, and how have you improved?
A: “I wanted to improve on my starts for this season, and I have a little bit. I also wanted to win the 60-meter dash for conference, and I did, which is great.”
Q: How did it feel to take home the championship?
A: “It felt good. It was a goal I had for the season. I’m happy that our hard work pays off.”
Q; Are you more confident running indoors or outdoors?
A:“I am much more confident outdoors than indoors, so I’m ready for it, although I hate the cold weather.”
Oklahoma Christian’s women’s track team opens its outdoor season at the Oklahoma Baptist Early Outdoor Individual Mar. 14 in Shawnee, OK.
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