SEWARD, Neb. – The Southwestern College men's and women's outdoor track & field teams sent several athletes on the precipice of qualifying for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships next week in Gulf Shores, Ala. to the Concordia Twilight Invite in Seward, Neb. One of those members was able to earn a qualification in the men's 400m Dash with an NAIA 'A' Standard clip, and another earned a women's field qualification in the Hammer Throw with a NAIA 'B' Standard toss.
"I'm excited but not surprised by this weekend's performance," said head coach Tim Thompson. "We gave our best! The ladies 4x400 relay had almost a 3 sec PR and Ablel ran a season PR. Our program is built on determination, motivation, and execution. We are locked in and ready for Nationals. Congratulations to Coach Caughey on her first national qualifier!"
Chris Moffett highlighted the trip north for the men, as he was able to eclipse the NAIA 'A' Standard in the 400m Dash with a time of 48.14. For the most part, only sprinters attended the event, though there was a distance race run by Ablel Gebreselase.
Gebreselase was running the 1500m for SC at the meet, as he finished the race in fourth place with a time of 3:56.91. It was his best clip of the season in the event, though he could not quite reach the 3:56.50 mark needed to earn the NAIA 'B' Standard.
David Mvundura placed fifth in the 100m Dash, as he came across the line at 10.93 in the preliminaries and 10.90 in the finals.
On the women's side, their 4x400m Relay group, consisting of Kentayshija Pruitt, Meliah Hanna, Rachel Booker, and Kyah Hill earned the top spot in the race which featured four squads. Their time of 3:57.65 was their top performance of the year.
Booker had a second-place showing in her prelim heat for the 100m Dash, though she would withdraw from the final due to her running in the 4x400m Relay later on.
Sidney Dennis was the only field athlete who attended the meet, and she tossed a 48.60 in the Hammer Throw to earn sixth place and her best toss of the season that ended up qualifying her for nationals with a NAIA 'B' Standard throw. It was a massive performance that broke an existing Southwestern College school record, landing her on the SC national roster.
The Builders were able to earn an additional two qualifiers for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Concordia Twilight Invite, and will be looking forward to May 23-28, when they will compete in Gulf Shores, Ala.
--buildersports.com--
