RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Junior Sophia Strange claimed top honors for the second straight season at the Great American Conference Championships, steering the Bison to a fourth-place finish on Saturday.
Strange earned GAC Runner of the Year for second consecutive season, becoming the first Bison to win the end-of-the-year award back-to-back. She crossed the finish line of the 5k race in 17:33.79, crushing her winning time (18:07.2) a season ago. Strange led OBU's group that scored 77 points, posting finishes of 1-8-17-24-27.
Turning in the second-best time for the Bison was freshman Mekenzie Connell, who took eighth with a finish of 18:20.9. Connell was the first freshman to cross in the event, which earned her GAC Freshman of the Year honors. Additionally, she was named to the All-GAC first team for her top-10 finish.
Trailing behind at 17th was Olivia Lynch's time of 18:44.6, followed by Jade Robinson's 18:52.2 that placed 24th. Lynch's mark garnered second-team All-GAC honors, her second straight season to collect the nod.
Freshman Shayna Hendrix ran a 19:03.6 to claim 29th, while Kaylen King (19:19.5) and Jadyn Pavlik (19:22.8) hurried to place 35th and 37th.
Rounding out the Bison in the top 50 was Zoee Weaver's 19:35.3 and McKayla Schmitt's 19:41.2 which finished 41st and 45th, respectively.
Lauren Crouch (53rd) and Zoe Strange (71st) completed OBU's participants, recording times of 19:56.0 and 20:48.0.
The event's award ceremony saw Pavlik, King, and Weaver pick up GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete accolades, while Robinson was named an Elite Scholar Athlete.
East Central won the championship after scoring 45 points, while Ouachita Baptist claimed runner-up at 62 points. Host-school Arkansas Tech (67) claimed third, one slot ahead of OBU.
Oklahoma Baptist returns to the course on Saturday, Nov. 4, at the NCAA Central Regional Championships in Joplin, MO. The Bison placed 16th of 25 squads at the event a season ago.
