Lotz Championship Highlights Outdoor Nationals

MARION, Ind. – The road to Nationals is difficult as each relay and individual must meet certain standards to be included. This year the Pioneers qualified 13 athletes, covering eight different events. Hitting the road to Nationals with qualifying marks were: Victoria Lotz in the hammer, discuss, and shot put throws; Caley Blosser in the hammer throw; Reanna Green in the long jump; Olivia Young in the triple jump; Sam Keita in the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles; Lance Jones in the 110 meter hurdles; and both women's and men's 4x400 squads represented by Janiah Nicholson, Lakin Essex, Alex Gere, and Joslyn Griffin for the women, and Sam Keita, Jatavion Pegues, Zack Jones, and Blake Poje for the men.
 
Starting off the highlight reel, senior Lotz, who has 13 National Championship event appearances and five All-American designations on her resume, was able to make the finals in each of her throwing events, though done in dramatic fashion. In each of her events, Lotz had only one marked distance with two fouls to make the finals. For the hammer throw, it was her final throw in the prelims which hit the mark. Lotz went on to claim All-American status in the discus throw with a fourth place finish and All-American status with the NAIA National Championship title in the hammer throw, an event she led the nation in for most of the season.
 
In the long jump, seasoned veteran Green, who has five NAIA National Championship event appearances and two All-American honors, used her second attempt in the prelims to qualify for the finals. Even though she was struggling with an injury, Green still had a strong fifth jump in the finals to secure her eighth place finish and claim her second All-American award.
 
Though the rest of the Pioneers were not able to grab a top eight spot to claim All-America status, several moved up spots at Nationals to better their previous national rankings on the collegiate statistics site "TFRRS". In the 400 meter hurdles, Keita finished a very respectable 11th place moving up from the previous ranking of 21st in the nation. Both the women's and men's 4x400 teams also placed better than their national rankings as the women claimed the 18th spot and the men the 15th place at the national event.
 
As a team, with three All-America designations, the compiled results gave the women's team an overall 14th place finish among 69 scoring teams, though many teams left with zero points.