SEARCY, Ark. — Over the course of three days, Southern Nazarene Track and Field went head to head with all Great American Conference competitors at the GAC Championships in Searcy, Arkansas. Both the men's and women's sides displayed exceptional performances, with some athletes setting SNU records and provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Division II Nationals meet.
One of the many highlights of the meet was freshman Abriel Thrash's stellar performance in the Heptathlon, placing first ahead of 12 other competitors with 4881 total points. Not only did Thrash set a new SNU record, she provisionally qualified to NCAA Division II Nationals and set a new GAC record in the event. Thrash finished top-3 in all events while finishing in first place in three of those as well.
Sabbatha Taylor also shattered an SNU record in the 10000 meter run, placing ninth with a time of 39:19.61, 19 seconds faster than the previous record.
The women's side did not stop with the record-breaking runs as Carissa Burns re-broke her personal and school record in the 200m run with a new, faster time of 24.82, placing fifth in that event. Burns also finished top-5 in the 100 meter race, placing fourth of eight with a time of 12.03.
Senior and SNU great Madalyn Harper represented the Storm well in the 1500 race as she placed seventh out of 55 total runners, running in a time of 4:50 flat.
Mirakle Blackshire finished well inside the top-20 in the long jump, placing 13th out of 25 with a mark of 4.96 meters. Blackshire also competed in the high jump, finishing 9th of 12 with a mark of 1.50 meters.
The men's 4x400 meter relay squad (Petties, Blackshire, Allen, Washington) dominated in that event, earning a second place finish out of five total teams with a time of 3:18.79. They raced their best relay time of the season and were just six seconds shy of the GAC meet record.
Darrius Blackshire had another highlight of the men's performances as he took home a third place finish in the 400 meter hurdles, finishing ahead of five other racers.
Joel Haynes was another top-20 finisher for the men as he raced to a 18th place finish of 35 total runners in the 1500 meter race with a time of 4:14.14. William Ramirez was right behind him in 19th with a time of 4:15.49.
Calee Williams had a great showing in the long jump, finishing seventh of 20 total jumpers with a mark of 6.71 meters.
Oklahoma Baptist ended up taking the trophy on the women's side with a total score of 256.5, making that back-to-back titles for the Bison. Harding claimed the title on the men's side, also defending the trophy while setting a new GAC Championships record in total points with 309.
In preparation for nationals, some of SNU's competitors will head to Canyon, Texas May 15th to compete in West Texas' Last Chance Meet. This will give SNU the opportunity to hit their best marks to hopefully earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Nationals Meet.
