USAO’s track and field team took a short trip to Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) in Shawnee, Okla. where they competed in the OBU Invitational. Their third outdoor meet of the season concluded with some great achievements, including one runner from the men’s squad claiming first place in his event and multiple program records broken on the women’s side.
For the men’s team, junior Aarin Simon continued to have an astonishing season as he took home the gold medal in the 400-meter dash after running 49.10 at the event. Freshman Ryan Joseph also took on the 400-meter dash, where he placed 26th overall with a time of 54.28.
Sophomore Daylen Huff put on the burners in his performances as he was first for the Drovers in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Huff earned personal records for both races as well, with an 11.25 on his 100-meter dash which earned him 26th overall. He followed that performance by beating his previous best time of the season by a full second on the 200-meter dash, posting 22.97 and another 26th-place finish.
Just behind Huff in the 200-meter dash was sophomore Hunter DeWall, who also beat his season best run by running 23.10 and placing 27th overall. Senior Brayden Keller was the final Drover to run in the 200-meter dash, earning 35th place with his best time of the season at 23.59.
The men’s team finished up their running events at the OBU Invitational in the 4 by 400-meter relay. The squad for this event saw Dewall, B. Keller, freshman Colby Keller, and Joseph compete. The Drovers took seventh place as the group finished in 3:31.47.
Freshman Antonio Reyna represented the men for discus and finished in the top ten competitors. Reyna took tenth place after completing his farthest throw of 35.74 meters (117 feet 3 inches).
The Drovers also had some impressive showings from the women’s team, with freshman Aleigha Prince leading the way. Prince sprinted through USAO’s 100-meter dash record, after recording a time of 13.10 and a 23rd overall finish. Freshman Ah’Briana Avery also took part in this event, finishing her race in 36th place with a time of 14.46.
Prince also took first place for the Drovers in the 200-meter dash after completing the race in 27.49 and taking 32nd place. Senior Savannah Creech wasn’t far behind her as she ended her run in 27.91 with a 37th-place finish.
Creech concluded the running portion of events for the women’s team by competing in the 400-meter dash. She finished 18th overall and ran the race in 1:04.56.
The jumping events saw another program record broken by freshman Cameryn McColley in the high jump. McColley took the freshman high jump record earlier this season and broke it again after leaping 1.53 meters (5 feet ¼ of an inch) and earning seventh place this weekend. She also participated in the long jump event, where she saw her furthest jump of 4.33 meters (14 feet 2.5 inches) and a placement of 18th.
Sophomore Kyra Willett showed her versatility as an athlete and took on the long jump as well. She finished first for the Drovers, jumping 4.5 meters (14 feet 9 and a ¼ of an inch) and taking 17th place. Following this, she competed in the shot put where she launched herself into a new program record. Willett threw 10.52 meters (34 feet 6 and ¼ inches) and placed 18th overall.
USAO had three more athletes compete in the shotput event, with freshman Alayna Nichols taking 25th place with her farthest throw of 9.37 meters (30 feet 9 inches). Right behind her was freshman Laura Barrios-Bardi, earning 26th place after her performance of 9.15 meters (30 feet ¼ of an inch). Freshman McKayla Steckley concluded the Drovers as she took 31st place after throwing 5.86 meters (19 feet 2 and ¾ inches).
USAO will take some time off, as their next competition is Friday, Apr. 12 through Saturday, Apr. 13 where they will take on the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman, Okla.
Gary Jackson is a third-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
