Results |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a very strong showing at the Heart of America Conference Championships, the Pioneers sent their top qualifying athletes to the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Gainesville, Florida. Each had hit qualifying marks to earn the right to represent the Pioneers at this prestigious event. This year, 14 Pioneers (
Nala Burns,
Lakin Essex,
Hayley Loewen,
Nikiwe Mongwe,
Olivia Young,
Alex Dawkins,
James Farmer-Cole,
Lance Jones,
Isaiah Keezer,
Sam Keita,
Gift Orionoma,
Jatavion Pegues,
Evan Schmidt, and
Eriyon Stamps), including two alternates in relays, satisfied the criteria to earn the right to go to Gainesville to battle against the best NAIA athletes in the nation in this three day event.
The starting day held much excitement for the Pioneers with
Olivia Young showcasing her strength in the triple jump. Young flew off the board from her beginning jump with the mark being her best of the day. Her jump placed her in 3rd, a position that she would not relinquish in the finals. She took home bronze to claim All-America status with her personal best effort.
Trying to keep pace with Young, the 4x400 men's team of
Sam Keita,
Isaiah Keezer,
Lance Jones, and
James Farmer-Cole ran a strong race in the preliminaries to take 1st in their heat, solidifying their spot in the finals on Saturday. For the first three legs of the race, the Pioneers held close to the leaders with each breaking 50 seconds, but then they relied on the legs of Farmer-Cole to close the deal. In the last lap of the 200 meter track, Farmer-Cole went to work to catch conference foe Grand View University which had led throughout. Then he lowered the boom to take first in the heat, solidifying an opportunity for the team to reach All-America status.
On Friday, the core of the team hit the track with a few competing in the field events. For the field events, the highlight was
Alex Dawkins making his Nationals' debut with a personal record, finishing 19th.
Meanwhile, on the track, Jones started off the preliminary events with a heat win in the 60-meter hurdles to advance to the finals. His time was the fastest of the day.
Nikiwe Mongwe continued the excitement with a heat win in the 400-meter dash and later would do the same in the 200-meter dash. Famer-Cole continued to display his prowess in the 400-meter dash as he claimed a spot in the finals on Saturday. Closing out the qualifiers for the finals on Saturday,
Lakin Essex took charge in the 600-meter dash early on and never relinquished it as she set a personal best and a new school record.
Saturday was a mixed bag for the Pioneers, and seven athletes claimed All-America status.
Eriyon Stamps was the highlight for the field events as he flew into the finals of the triple jump to claim the 7th place in the NAIA and a title of All-American. For the track athletes, Mongwe led the charge for the Pioneer women as she grabbed two silver medals, 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash, for dual All-America status and a school indoor record in the 400. All-American was claimed by Essex in the 600-meter dash with a 7th place finish. For the men, Jones, struck a hurdle and crossed the finish line in eighth for his title of All-America. Though the 4x400 relay had to call in the reserves with two unable to race,
Gift Orionoma and
Jatavion Pegues were ready to serve. The relay team of Pegues, Keezer, Jones, and Orionoma took 8th place to earn their All-America honors. Like Mongwe, Jones was a dual All-American at the meet.
Overall, eight different Pioneers laid claim to All-America status in seven different events. The Pioneers also had their best indoor team finishes since 2020 with the Pioneer women grabbing a top ten team finish at 9th place.
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