SEARCY, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist finished in second place after the three-day Great American Conference Outdoor Championship held at Harding University.
OBU finished with 200 points while Harding won with 235.5, halting the Bison's previous four-year stretch of winning the outdoor title. Rounding out the top three was
Ouachita with 119.5 points.
Wednesday's Highlights
Altyn Bartley defended her hammer throw title by taking first in that event. She threw 54.06 meters (177-4.0) which bested her own meet record from a season ago.
Teammate
Kiara Stallin also performed well, claiming fourth place with a throw of 43.86m (143-11.0). That helped the freshman earn All-GAC Second Team honors.
In running events,
Adelaide Murphy was victorious in the 10,000. She PR'd with a time of 37:12.30.
Thursday's Highlights
Stallin, Bartley and
Jenn Blackford dominated the shot put competition. For Stallin and Bartley, they finished in second and third, respectively, and tallied 14 combined points and earned All-GAC First Team accolades.
As for Blackford, she followed in sixth, reaching 13.33m (43-8.75), which slotted her on the second team all-conference list.
Friday's Highlights
Jamora Horace won the high jump for the second straight year, reaching 1.78 meters on Friday. That was a GAC and facility record and qualified Horace for All-GAC First Team honors.
Jacey Hammon delivered as well for OBU. She took third with a jump of 1.68m which also helped her attain top conference awards.
In the 4x100,
De'ja Rose,
Bianca Gleim,
Olivia Tate and
Emery Lomon delivered first for the Bison. That group won with a time of 46.38, besting Harding's "A" group time by 0.23 seconds.
Etheridge dialed up another Bison win on Friday. She claimed first in the 1,500 with a time of 4:34.06 while Lyda (4:37.47) and
Shayna Hendrix (4:38.97) followed in third and fourth, respectively. Later in the day, Etheridge won again, the time in the 800.
OBU's other victory on Friday was delivered by standout
Asia Foster. She was victorious in the 400-meter dash, posting a time of 24.04. That met NCAA qualifying standards as well.
Favour Okoye also did well, earning third place with a personal-best time of 54.30.
A host of runner-up spots came for the green and gold as well. Murphy did so in the 5,000 while Tate took silver in the 100-meter dash. Tate's finish of 11.69 also met NCAA qualifying standards. Plus,
Favour Okoye notched second in the 400 hurdles 1:00.30 while Foster earned the same placement in the 200 (24.04). Lastly, the 4x400 team of Etheridge, Gleim, Okoye and
Brianna Jones earned second in that event (3:44.87). That was an NCAA qualifying time.
Furthermore, during the 100-meter hurdles,
Diamond Lewis had a bronze finish, posting a PR of 14:22. Teammates
Bella Driver and
Kyndall Hicks also scored points for OBU in that race and finished in fifth and eighth, respectively.
Next on the schedule for OBU is the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships held at Emporia State from May 21-23. Stay tuned to OBUBison.com to see which Bison are selected to compete.
