ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Oklahoma Baptist men's track and field team earned five NCAA All-Americans at the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. To qualify as an NCAA All-American, an athlete must place in the top eight. The Bison made the final round of both the 4x100 meter relay and 400 meter run and placed eighth and fifth, respectively.
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The Bison got the afternoon started with the 4x100 meter relay as
Mahcoe Smith,
Jax Holland,
Marcus Petersen, and
Shirvante Knauls finished with a time of 40.99, beating out Pittsburg State by .28 seconds. They also improved on their preliminary time (41.22) by 0.23 seconds.
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Tarees Rhoden finished fifth in the 400 meter run with a time of 46.98. Rhoden improved his preliminary time (47.54) by 0.56 seconds.
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"With Rhoden finishing fifth, all five guys earned All-American," said head coach
Ford Mastin. "The 4x100 was fun to watch, with the team ranked 12th coming in and finishing eighth to earn All-American. We will improve and come back stronger," said Mastin.
The OBU track and field program finished the 2021 season with 10 NCAA All-Americans. They earned five during the indoor national meet in March, and added five more on Saturday at the outdoor championships.
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