Bison Cruise to Five More Wins at GAC Championships

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Oklahoma Baptist men's and women's track and field teams earned five more event wins on Friday's second day of the Great American Conference Championships. Going into Saturday's final events, the OBU men team have taken a strong lead in the overall team standings with 100 points, while the women's team is currently in second overall with 52 points. 
 
Hayden Ashley finished out the men's decathlon in first place with 6,478 points, 388 clear of runner-up Matt Hipshire of Harding. Ashley began by winning the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 16.34 seconds. He placed third in the discus, then kept right on rolling, winning the pole vault and the javelin.
 
Also among the four men's individual event winners was Jacob Power in the men's discus with a distance of 48.2 meters, 1.30 meters further than second-place Sal Guli of Southern Arkansas. Jax Holland, another top finisher, placed first in the long jump. Holland achieved a new personal best, with a distance of 7.17 meters, which was a 0.16 meter improvement from his previous record. The final male event winner was Maxamillian Wheeler. The 3,000 meter steeplechase was Wheeler's event, and he won with a time of 9:39.30. 
 
On the women's side, Kayla McGruder completed the sweep of the 3,000 meter steeplechase, claiming victory with a time of 11:28.52, a substantial 8.71 second margin over second place. 
 
The Bison earned five other top finishes on Friday. For the women's team, Elizabeth Jones took third in the heptathlon, with a score of 4,201. For the men's team, Alexander Schovanec placed third in the discus (46.55 meters), and Nathaniel Worley came in second in the long jump (6.93 meters). Lastly, Jared Ellis and Blake Cope took second and third, respectively, in the steeplechase.
 
The Bison will participate in the conclusion of the GAC Championships on Saturday, April 17, with the first event scheduled to take place at 9 a.m.