OBU All-Comers Meet Recap

Shawnee, Okla. – On the windswept plains of Shawnee, Oklahoma, the Pioneers stopped their prairie schooners for strong competition against the Bisons of Oklahoma Baptist University and their guests as well as the resistance of the wind. For the short sprinters and horizontal jumpers, the wind was an aid for many, though not necessarily to illegal strength, but for those going a full lap, they had an additional battle. Regardless, the Pioneers set 26 personal bests and qualified three athletes for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Nationals.
 
The throwers were the first to go to battle as the shot putters took to the ring on Friday. They grabbed two top 5 finishes with Alicia Hernandez-Mast finishing fifth and Alexander Dawkins taking second. Dawkins grabbed a personal best with teammate Jaxson Nation following suit.
 
Saturday, the throwers, once again, led the charge as Nora Powers was back to her old tricks in the javelin. Powers continued to see fruit after working hard through rehab to claim the title but also qualify for NAIA Nationals with a B standard mark, placing her in a tie for fourth in the NAIA. Ella Margheim grabbed the fourth spot with Brody Stewart equaling that place for the men. Also, Russell Ferguson set a personal record on the men's side.
 
In the discus, Dawkins continued his strong weekend by grabbing a second silver and setting a personal best.
 
Finishing out the throwing events, the Pioneers set the hammer to flight, ending up with two top 5 finishes and three personal records. Hernandez-Mast claimed her second top 5 finish for the weekend by setting a personal best and taking home the bronze. Meanwhile, Margheim set sail with an impressive personal improvement of over 6 meters. Jacob Creswell landed a fourth-place finish with Joshua Delgado setting a personal best in the men's division.
 
Hitting the runway in the long jump, Indoor All-American Triple Jumper Olivia Young, erupted off the board to grab the silver while setting a personal best. Her distance was easily a B-standard qualifying mark for Nationals and placed her as fourth in the NAIA nation. Kejuan Williams and Eriyon Stamps took advantage of the wind, also, hitting their top marks. Williams also grabbed a top 5 spot at fourth while Stamps just missed the top 5 at sixth.
 
In the triple jump, both Young and Williams kept the explosions going with third place finishes for each.
 
Switching gears to the track, both the Pioneer women and men grabbed top 5 places in the 4x100 meter relays. The women's team of Nala Burns, LaShae Smith, Eilyannis Monge, and Jola Felix grabbed fifth place while Gift Orionoma, Jatavion Pegues, Isaiah Keezer, and Timarian Rozell took fourth for the men.
 
The 1500-meter runners got to go full circle which meant they had to fight the wind at some point. They responded well with two top 5 finishes and six personal records.  For the women, Isabella Meili led the Pioneers with an impressive second place finish and close to 30 second improvement. However, the Pioneer women were not done as Riley Filmore, Julia Swearengin, and Lana Smittick all set personal records. For the men, Aidan Scherman led the team with a fifth place finish while Jacob Hendrickson grabbed sixth by winning his heat with a personal best and Josiah Robinson claimed a personal best for two meets in a row.
 
In the 110 hurdles, three Pioneers earned top 5 designations with Smith taking fifth in the women's division. The Pioneer men were made up of four collegiate first timers and veteran Lance Jones. Jones grabbed the title with a personal best, an A-standard National qualifying mark which placed him as number one in the NAIA, while teammate Benn Schnelle landed the fourth place.
 
The 400-meter dash is a difficult race; no wind is needed or wanted. That did not matter to Pegues who set an open personal best, regardless of the wind.
 
Moving to the fastest race on the outdoor track, the 100-meter dash, Orionoma fired on all cylinders. He set a new personal record, also an MNU school record, on his way to a fourth place finish. Kortez Washington also set a personal best while Keezer won his heat in his college 100 meter debut.
 
In a race that requires speed and endurance, the 800 meter run, Lakin Essex was able to hold on to win her heat in a personal best time. For the men, Thomas Knudsen also won his heat, but Robinson was the only Pioneer man to claim a personal record. It was Robinson's second personal best of the day.
 
The 200 meter dash was a stellar performance by the Pioneer men as six veterans of the race improved for collegiate bests. In one heat alone, the Pioneers took the top three places of the heat with Jones, Keezer, and Rozell finishing in that order. Jones led the charge with Keezer, Felipe Rodriguez, Andrew Ghan, Schnelle, and Holden Hughes all earning collegiate best honors.
 
Battling the wind somewhere on the track for 12.5 laps in the 5000 meter run requires a lot of mental strength as well as racing tactics. Gracie Enochs was the lone Pioneer to set a collegiate best in less-than-ideal weather conditions. She did so with an improvement of over 45 seconds.
 
The final race of the day belonged to the 4x400 meter relay. For the Pioneer women, Monge, Taryn St. Clair, Meili, and Essex fought through the struggle of legs that hit the wall around 300 meters to easily take their heat. They moved up from third place after the first leg into first after the second leg and then held on. The time in their heat ended up giving them the fifth place finish overall as the top four places went to NCAA DII schools. The Pioneer men, like the Pioneer women, where in third place after the first leg of the race, moved up one place after the second leg, but then took over in the third leg to win the heat and the overall title. The men's team was composed of Pegues, TJ Bessmer, Fardis Hossinei, and Knudsen.
 
Even with the wind, the Pioneers had a great day with many personal bests and three NAIA National qualifying marks.