LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships are just over three weeks away as the season continued last week with all eight programs in action.
Austin College traveled to the Oklahoma Baptist University invite last week receiving several strong performances as multiple runners set new personal bests. RJ Navarro broke the school record in the 800-meters, finishing 11th in a time of 2:06.74. Navarro turned in a second top-20 finish in the 1,500-meters, placing 19th, crossing the line in 4:27.03. Charles McIntyre impressed in the 5,000-meters, stopping the clock in 16:58.57 good enough for 10th-place. On the women’s side Danielle Lonzano and Hannah Richards led the way for the ‘Roos. Lonzano took home 12th in the 5,000-meters (20:51.55) and Richards finished 15th in the 800-meters (2:39.33).
Colorado College returned to action last week, competing at the non-scored CSU-Pueblo Spank Blassing Meet. Henry Baldwin and Max Blackburn each posted individual victories to highlight the men’s performances. Baldwin continued his outstanding spring season by winning the high jump with a mark of 2.05 meters and Blackburn captured the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:05.06. Tony Calderon added a top five finish in the 5,000-meters, finishing fifth in 16:07.20. Women’s highlights included Camille Weaver breaking a 37-year old school record in the 100-meter dash. Weaver finished third in the race with a time of 15.42 seconds, snapping the old record of 15.6 second set in 1982. Megan Koch and Allysa Warling each posted a top-five result as well. Koch placed third in the 800 with a time of 2:22.41, while Warling finished fourth in the 5,000-meters with a time of 19:48.29.
Dallas competed at the Dan Veach Invitational hosted by Southern Arkansas University last Saturday. Kevin McGuirk broke a school record in the 400-meter hurdles for the third straight meet and fourth time in his career, finishing third in 57.61. McGuirk also set a personal record in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing fourth with a time of 17.24. Clare Hernandez won the women’s 3,000-metere steeplechase, breaking the tape in 13:00.37. Other women’s highlights included Anna Wilgenbusch earing a pair of second-place finishes in the 1,500-meters (5:17.06) and the 5,000-meters (19:27.36).
Johnson & Wales continued its outdoor season last weekend at the Tom Benich Invite, hosted by Northern Colorado. Bryce Moore led the JWU men with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000-meters with a program record time of 16:03.86. The women were led by Rebecca Brock setting a program record in the 800-meters with a time of 2:24.79 to finish ninth.
Schreiner sent a small group to compete at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational and got strong performances from Matthew Wilding and Kendall Lee. Wilding placed 43rd in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.63, while Lee finished 51st in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 13.61.
Southwestern returned from its spring break trip to compete at the Texas Quad Meet hosted by Trinity. The men posted a pair of wins led by Karlton Covington and Nathan Bortros. Covington won the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.22 and Bortros took home gold in the 800-meters breaking the tape in 2:06.13. Erin Toro set a new program record in the women’s discus after a second-place finish with a toss of 37.52 meters. Toro also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 10.72 meters. On the track, Keamber McCracken placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.04 to help lead the way for the Pirates women’s squad.
Texas Lutheran continued its busy spring schedule sending athletes to both the Texas State Bobcat Invitational and the Texas Quad. On the men’s side, Garrett Garza and Darren Jones led the way for the Bulldogs. Garza moved to the top of the Div. III performance list in the shot put following a fifth-place finish at the Bobcat Invite with a mark of 17.39 meters. The mark also set a school record, one he previously set earlier this season. Jones moved into the second spot nationally with his fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a school record time of 10.57 seconds. For the TLU women, Ashley Rynard won the 3,000-meters at the Texas Quad meet with a time of 2:15.86 and Cortnee Priour won the long jump with a mark of 5.51 meters.
Trinity continued its outdoor season with a busy week, sending athletes to three different events including hosting its own Texas Quad last Sunday. Highlights on the men’s side included Sean Majors jumping a personal best and winning the long jump at the Texas Quad with a leap of 6.99 meters. On the track, Blaire Walker won the 200-meter dash with a new PR of 21.91. Walker also won his heat of the 400-meters at the Texas Bobcat open with a time of 49.49. Molly McCullough led the way on the women’s side after her first-place finish in the steeplechase at the Texas Relays. Her winning time of 11:08.26 is a season best and currently ranks tops in the SCAC and third in all of Div. III. In field events, Stella Affognon threw a personal best in the discus at the Texas Bobcat Invitational with a mark of 41.79 meters, good enough for 22nd-place. Her toss was good enough to set a school record, send her to the top of the performance list in the SCAC and currently ranks her 13th across all of Div. III.
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference outdoor track and field continues this week with five teams in action, highlighted by Colorado College and JWU heading to the Colorado University Invite.