ATLANTA, Ga – After a monster day on the field Friday at Emory Thrills in the Hills, CIU track & field backed it up with several more Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) qualifiers, NCCAA Qualifiers, and an NAIA National Qualifier in Deandre Leith on Saturday. Leith qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Championships shot put (16.4m) and discus (49.17m) while also taking first place in a crowded and talented field for both events.
The Rams secured seven female AAC qualifiers in the field today and three male qualifiers, including Leith.
In discus, Bryce Scarborough (31.99m) and Dizayuh Hinton (44.34m) competed beside Leith. Hinton qualified for AACs and NCCAAs. In the shot put, Scarborough (10.96m) and Hinton (12.95m) qualified for AAC's. Elsewhere, Phillip Fraizer (12.4m) was the lone competitor in the triple jump for CIU
The accolades continued in women's shot put as Crystal Jones(10.49m), Acoya Hunt (10.06) and Kloey Pickens (12.57m) qualified for the AAC Outdoor Championships. Pickens also qualified for NCCAA Outdoors with her effort. In women's discus, Haven Lynn (29.56m), Acoya Hunt (32.37), Lily (30.13m) and Dazanni (33.36m) all qualified for AAC's.
A strong day continued on the track for CIU with Jayla Hunter competing in the women's 100m and timed in at 14.63 . Crystal Jones ran a 15.70 in the 100m hurdles finals, securing an AAC berth for herself. Mercy Berkemeyer (2:30.74, AAC qualifying time, school record) and Jordan Wray (2:44.44) ran in the 800m; while in the 4x400 medley relay, Trinyty Gregory, Rosemary Reed, Jones and Berkemeyer notched a team time of 4:23.94
For the men, Kenneth Simmons (11.54) and Phillip Frazier (11.73) ran in the 100m, and the men's 4x100 medley relay team (Robinson, Frazier, Simmons, Laing) ran a 43.67 . Spencer Evans ran a 4:39.87 in the 1500m while in the 400m, Clayton Hammond (51.25)and Ethan Robinson (51.48) ran AAC and NCCAA qualifying times, Jacob Osmanski (56.63) also represented in the 400m, with Evans running a 2:09.31 in the 800m. Dario Laing ran a 15.49 in the men's 110m hurdles and hit AAC and NCCAA benchmarks. In the 4x400 medley relay, Robinson, Simmons, Hammond, and Laing clocked in at 3:24.25, setting a new school record.
What Coach Tim Thompson had to say: "This was more than a track meet for us; it was the opportunity to respond to fear, worry, and doubt. Our staff did an amazing navigating the last few weeks. As a result our program opened the outdoor season with 15 Conference, 13 NCCAA qualifiers, and two lifetime PRs."
Up Next: CIU will head up to the Piedmont region of South Carolina to compete in the Gotta Run Invite on March 31st, hosted by Southern Wesleyan University.
