BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After months of hard work, eight meets, and countless practices, the 2021 Oklahoma Baptist men's and women's track and field indoor season came to a close Saturday at the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championships.
The Bison competed in three different events and clinched five NCAA All-America honors. Sophomore
Tarees Rhoden claimed two of the five NCAA All-America nods, competing in the 400-meter dash and the men's 4x400 meter relay. He posted a pair of personal bests in the 400 meter run. In the preliminary round, he beat his previous personal best (47.13) by .03 seconds. He then turned around the very next day and shaved off another .04 seconds to post a new personal record of 47.66 and finish fourth overall.
Shirvante Knauls,
Zachary Coak,
Jax Holland, and Rhoden participated in the men's 4x400 meter relay. They placed sixth with a time of 3:15.44 to give the Bison the other four NCAA All-Americans. The Bison were .19 seconds faster than Northwest Missouri State and .17 seconds away from fifth-place Pittsburg State.
On the women's side,
Mary McKey,
Tizhane Brooks,
Brooklynn James, and
Taylor James competed in the women's 4x400 relay and placed tenth with a time of 3:54.24.
"Even though we didn't have the great results we were looking for, we still had our first male individual NCAA All-American and male relay All-American," said head coach
Ford Mastin. "We are motivated to be more competitive in the outdoor season," said Mastin.
The Oklahoma Baptist men's and women's track and field teams will open the outdoor season with a home meet on Friday, March 26 through Saturday, March 27.
