ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Track & Field had many successes to build on at the annual D3 Challenge in Seguin on Saturday, collecting five wins and 16 podium finishes against 10 other schools from the NCAA Division III level.
INTERACTIVE RESULTS l
PDF RESULTS
War Hawk Wins:
- McMurry had three wins on the women's side, including Najwa Campbell in the 100 meter hurdles. She posted a time of 15.28 and bested 13 other runners. She remains 18th in the national rankings and first in the American Southwest Conference at 15.17.
- Breauna Conner won the women's 400 with a time of 1:01.02, marking a new personal record. Conner now ranks fourth in the ASC. Joining her on the podium was Bethany Guzman with a time of 1:02.18 to rank third in the meet and fifth in the conference.
- McMurry's women also had the winning 4x100 team at the D3 Challenge, made up of Kelby Tidwell, Hannah Moss, Campbell and Jada Morris. They posted a collective time of 49.55 to rank 16th in the nation and atop the ASC.
- The men had two wins, including a near-tie in the 400 meter hurdles between Justin DeLeon and Jayden Sloan. The duo finished with identical times of 55.97, with DeLeon officially getting the win by a one-thousandth of a second. Both rank atop the conference and 12th in the nation.
- The final win came from freshman thrower Reagan Owen, who launched a 49.28m throw in the men's hammer for the gold. He ranks 22nd nationally and second in the conference behind teammate Sutton Welch. The third best thrower in the conference is another teammate, Jarrett Hart, who finished third at the D3 Challenge at 44.40m.
More Track Highlights:
- Freshman Jacee Dinkins broke away from the distance runners at Texas State to compete Saturday, running a personal best in the 800 with a time of 2:33.39. She finished fifth overall and moves into the conference's top eight.
- Dinkins later ran on the women's 4x400 relay team, who finished second overall at 4:14.54. The team was made up of Isabella Sanchez, Bethany Guzman, Dinkins and Conner as the anchor.
- The men's relay teams went against some of NCAA Division III's best teams, finishing third with a time of 41.72 in the 4x100 with the "A" team and at 42.82 with the "B" team for fifth. The ASC owns three of the nation's top five relay times, with McMurry in fifth. Jamari Williams, Jermond Lovely, Jayden Sloan and Dazhaun Walton made up the fastest McMurry team.
- Walton also competed in the 400 and the 200 dashes, leading McMurry in both events. His place finish in the 400 landed him bronze at 50.46. He ranks fourth in the ASC, directly followed by freshman teammate Jaheim Billison who finished right behind him at 50.78.
- The men's 4x400 relay finished sixth overall with a time of 3:29.96, ran by Justin DeLeon, Cody McWilliams, Kade Kimmel and Jamari Williams.
More Field Highlights:
- DonTre Sinegal had a strong day in the men's triple jump, finishing second with a mark of 14.14m. He currently ranks third in the ASC and eighth in the nation. He was 0.01 meter off the winning mark.
- Making her 2022 outdoor debut following women's basketball season, junior Jada Morris picked up where she left off last year with good marks in the high jump and long jump. She did this despite cutting some of her attempts to compete on the winning 4x100 relay team.
- Christian Morales had a huge day with two new personal records, most notably a 50.15m throw in the javelin for his first mark above 50 meters. He finished second in the meet and has the second-ranked mark in the conference.
- Bethany Wood had a strong field performance with two new PRs at the meet, including a 30.75m throw in the javelin and a 1.51m clearance in the high jump. Wood finished fifth in both events, but more impressively, ascended almost a full decimeter past her previous PR in the high jump.
- Elizabeth Jordan was also acknowledged by the team for a good throwing day, setting two new personal records in the shot put and hammer. She finished sixth in the shot at 10.59m and ninth in the hammer at 30.85m. She also threw 33.08m in the discus for eighth.
- McMurry had a good day in the pole vault event, led by senior Kelby Tidwell with a new personal record of 3.30m. Her previous PR was 3.26m at the 2021 ASC Championships – winning her the crown. She finished third at the meet, followed by Dinkins with an even 3.00m mark.
- In the men's pole vault, both Rylan Rogers and Shepherd Miller were just short of new PRs, but nailed top five finishes. Freshman Luis Holguin competed in the pole vault for the first time in his career, setting his early PR at 3.45m.
- Junior Ellie Ryan led McMurry in two events, placing second in the hammer (38.78m) and fourth in the discus (35.49m). She remains nationally ranked in the hammer and leads the ASC with a mark of 41.60m set in San Antonio.
- On top of his hammer win, Owen also led McMurry with a throw of 40.23m in the men's discus to finish fourth overall. Vern Angton was right behind him, finishing fifth at 39.67m, while also setting a PR in the shot put at 13.23m to finish fifth.
Up Next:
The War Hawks return to action next weekend at the David Noble Relays, beginning April 1-2 in San Angelo, Texas. The meet will be hosted by Angelo State University.
