Track Dominates First Outdoor Meet of Season

SHAWNEE – (Results) Oklahoma Baptist opened up the outdoor track and field season Thursday, hosting the OBU Early Outdoor Invitational at the Eddie Hurt Jr. Athletic Complex.
 
Lady Bison athletes compiled 41 NCCAA Outdoor National Championship qualifiers, while the men met 18 automatic qualifying standards.
 
Lauren Franz won the first event of the day, placing first in the 10000 meters in a qualifying time of 42:50.51.
 
OBU took the top two spots and three Lady Bison qualified in the 100 meter hurdles. Leah Molter won the event in 14.20, Lacey Herbert finished second in 15.12, and Carleigh Neal took eighth place in a qualifying time of 16.26.
 
Three women qualified in the 400 meters. Breanna Hurlbut (58.88) was second in the event, Destinee Allen (59.39) was third, and Abby Mayfield (59.47) finished fourth.
 
The Lady Bison dominated the 100 meters, qualifying five athletes and posting four of the top six times at the meet. McKae Mitchell won the event in 12.01, Candis Rodgers (12.19) was third, Shariah Anderson (12.22) took fourth, and Ruth King (12.39) finished sixth. Jade Mitchell also qualified with a time of 13.10.
 
Kya Barnes won the 800 meters in 2:20.31, an event that saw OBU competitors take the top three spots with three qualifying times. Shimoya Currie (2:21.14) finished second, and Kysha Miller (2:24.16) was third.
 
Four OBU women qualified in the 400 meter hurdles. Molter won the event in 1:05.81, with Tia Coleman (1:06.77), JoziRose Mayfield (1:07.06), and Herbert (1:09.22) also meeting the standard.
 
Mitchell (24.07), Rodgers (25.21), and Anderson (25.34) qualified in the 200 meters.
 
The Lady Bison swept the top three spots in the 5000 meters. Emily Sechrist won the event in 18:44.39, Kaylee Large (18:44.63) was second, and Sydney Lawrence (18:45.02) took third place.
 
Although there is no qualifying time for relays, the Lady Bison performed well in both relay events Thursday. A team of Mitchell, Anderson, King, and Molter finished second in the 4x100 meter relay in 47.36 seconds.
 
Mitchell, King, Abby Mayfield, and Barnes took first in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:58.16.
 
Katrina Horner took first in the javelin, meeting the standard at 36.77 meters. Herbert (33.92m) also qualified.
 
Three Lady Bison qualified in the long jump, paced by Kim Mead at 5.59 meters. Sydney Long (5.57m) and Neal (5.31m) also met the standard.
 
Brittany Poe (11.83m) led three qualifiers in the shot put. Hollie Johnson (11.53m) and Mead (11.43) qualified as well.
 
Jennifer Baker won the discus with a qualifying throw of 44.59 meters. Poe also qualified at 37.22 meters.
 
Due to high winds, the pole vault events took place inside at the neighboring Jay P. Chance Indoor Track facility. Payton Wilson qualified for the women at 3.00 meters.
 
Raigan Servati took first in the high jump at a qualifying height of 1.52 meters, and Herbert also qualified at 1.47 meters.
 
Long qualified in the high jump (1.52m) and the triple jump (10.75m). Neal also met the standard in the triple jump with a distance of 11.03 meters.
 
Five Bison men met the standard in the 110 meter hurdles, paced by a second place finish from Cayden Spain in 15.08. Christopher Walker (15.15), Brandon Crowley (15.32), Andrew Worley (15.68), and Hayden Ashley (16.21) also qualified in the event.
 
Walker also won the 400 meter hurdles in a qualifying time of 58.67.
 
Three men qualified in the 100 meters, led by Devontrae Young in 10.77. Thiago Dos Santos met the standard in 10.80, and Jermaine Lewis qualified in 10.98.
 
Young was second in the 200 meters, qualifying in 21.40.
 
Ashley placed first in the javelin at a qualifying distance of 49.30 meters, and Zachary Medeiros qualified in the hammer throw at 41.59 meters.
 
Tanner Profice qualified in the long jump with a distance of 6.98 meters.
 
Jacob Cochran met the standard in the shot put (14.33m) and the discus (42.92m).
 
Spencer Lashley won the pole vault at the Jay P. Chance Indoor Track facility, clearing a qualifying height of 4.60 meters. Phillip Spess (4.45m) and Ashley (4.30m) also met the standard.
 
A team of Matthew Giudice, Clayton Honeycutt, Young, and Carlos James won the 4x400 meter relay in 3:23.79.
 
Next up for the Bison and Lady Bison is another home meet, the Oklahoma Baptist University Invitational, on March 25.