Making their NCCAA Indoor National Championships debut, the Bob Jones University men's and women's track & field teams competed well to wrap up their indoor season. Through the two day meet in Cedarville, Ohio the Bruins broke several program and personal records.
"The team responded great at Nationals," said Head Coach Ken Roach. "With this being our first year competing indoors, we knew it would be tough to go head to head with teams. We wanted to focus on the process of our performance and our actions at the meet, to broaden our understanding to allow growth. We had great physical performances and many PRs, but it was our attitude that mattered the most. We performed with intention and purpose with a courageous heart that allowed the team to be their best. I am very proud of this program."
The Bruins opened the meet at Cedarville University with Misha Gray competing in the 60 meter hurdles. Gray crossed the line with a new program and personal best finishing at 9.64 seconds.
Next up, Mikayla Whiteford and Laural Arce toed the line at the start of the 60 meter event. Both ladies finished with personal records at the end as Whiteford finished at 8.74 and Arce at 8.91. In the men's 60 meter event, Luke Fressel finished 16th at 7.20, a time good enough to break a program and personal record.
It was a competitive field for the men's 5k as Sol Shafer and Evan Seaman ran the 3.1 mile race. Shafer crossed the line 11th overall with a new indoor record of 15:59.65 with teammate Seaman finishing a minute later.
Coach Roach put together a men's and women's team to compete in the 4x200 meter relay. Alyssa Marks, Emma Landry, Anna Fleming, and Francesca Peters finished their relay at 1:54.98. The men's team of Michael Steurer, Andrew Joinville, Jordan Augustus, and Luke Fressel then crossed the line at 1:38.84 to close out the first day of competition.
The Bruins were back on the track on Saturday ready to compete. In the 4x800 meter relay, Margaret Snyder, Anna Fleming, Elisabeth Farley, and Francesca Peters completed their 16 laps around the track at 11:01.85. Andrew Sarver got the men's relay started before passing the baton to Ian Flynn, Marc Johnson, and then Joseph Grassmid who closed out the 4x800 relay with a time of 8:38.65.
Up next, Ryan Heying ran a competitive race in the mile and finished just a couple seconds off of a personal best at 4:33.98. In the 400 meter race, Sydney Patton stopped the clock at 55.45 for a new personal best. Sol Shafer was back on the track for the 3k where he finished 9:15.09 for a new personal best in the event.
The Bruins wrapped up their time at the national championships with program records by the women and men in the 4x400 meter relay. Emma Landry, Francesca Peters, Laurel Arce, and Alyssa Marks finished at 4:27.17 while Misha Gray, Ian Flynn, Michael Steurer, and Luke Fressel ran away with indoor record time for the Bruins at 3:35.73.
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here to view the full events and results of each Bruin at the NCCAA Indoor National Championships.
The track & field teams will take a few weeks off of competition before they transition to their outdoor season where they will travel to Central, South Carolina to participate in the Susan Rouse Invite at Southern Wesleyan University.
