DES MOINES, Iowa – The Oklahoma Baptist women's 4x800 track and field squad raced to a first-place finish at the 114th Drake Relays to highlight a weekend of notable efforts on and off the track.
OBU clocked the fastest time in NCAA Division II at 9:01.56 with Mekenzie Connell anchoring in 2:12.86. The other legs in the race were Zoee Weaver, Shayna Hendrix, and Kaylen King.
It the Bison's fifth Drake Relays title in the event and first since 2012, tying them with Augstana, S.D., for the most in Relays history. Furthermore, for assistant coach Ford Mastin, it was the 57th title he had a hand in over his coaching career.
The 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams recorded DII provisional times of 46.01 (4th) and 3:48.83 (6th), respectively. Both were season-best times.
Running the 4x100 was Kelechi Christian, Delaney Riekert, Deja Rose, and Olivia Tate. On the latter was Christian, McKinney, King, and Connell.
A few Bison also competed at Texas Tech's Corky/Crofoot Shootout in Lubbock, Texas.
Jade Byrd led OBU's entries with a season-long heave of 49.64m (162-10) in the discus, good for a seventh-place finish. The mark met the NCAA provisional standard, ranks third in Division II, and nearly broke her school record of 49.93m (163-10).
Byrd added a fourth place finish in the hammer after a throw of 51.27m (168-2), the second-furthest throw in her career.
Rounding out the notables was Jamora Horace's eighth place finish in the long jump (1.67m; 5-5.75) and Anisha Henderson's leap of 5.77m (18-11.25) that earned 11th.
To watch the 4x800 squad's interview after the conclusion of their race, click here.
NEXT UP
Oklahoma Baptist sets their sights on the Great American Conference Outdoor Championships this week, scheduled to run May 1-3 in Magnolia, Arkansas. OBU captured its third GAC title in program history a season ago.
