GULF SHORES, Ala. – Wayland Baptist won the women's 2015 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships here Saturday behind a dominating effort from its sprinters, while the Wayland men tied for second place just four points out of first.
Claiming victories in five events, the Pioneer women – who finished eighth the last two years – ran away with the national title by amassing 91 points, 25 more than runner-up Oklahoma Baptist. Two-time defending champion Indiana Tech, which figured to challenge Wayland for the crown, settled for fourth place with 52 points.
It is Wayland's third national outdoor track and field title and first since winning back-to-back crowns in 2008-09. WBU has five women's indoor titles.
The 91 points are the third-most all-time for Wayland at a national outdoor meet, trailing only the 110 put up in 1986 when Wayland finished second and the 102 scored by the 2009 champions.
For the WBU men, it marks the fourth straight national meet – including indoors – that the Pioneers have finished second (or tied for second.) The Pioneer men were hoping for their second-ever outdoor title and eighth overall. An unfortunate baton drop in Friday's preliminaries of the 4x400-meter relay proved costly.
The WBU men finished tied with Indiana Tech with 55 points, four behind champion Concordia, Neb. Oklahoma Baptist was fourth with 53 points.
Leading the Wayland women was an impressive group of sprinters, led by
Alexis Browner. The senior from Sacramento, Calif., won the 100 (11.43 seconds) and 200 meters (23.48) and helped the 4x100 (44.91) and 4x400 relays (3:38.72) to victories.
Wayland already had the team title wrapped up before the final event, the mile relay, but the Pioneers still won by more than six seconds.
Freshman
Rochene Smith and senior
Gregria Higgs were second and fourth, respectively, in both the 100 (11.58 & 11.72) and 200 (23.82 & 24.24) and ran on the winning 4x100, along with junior
Kesley Gittens.
Wayland also shined in the 400 where junior
Bianca Farrington (53.81) finished first and freshman
Monique McPherson (55.36) took fourth. Farrington and McPherson were joined by Browner and Gittens on the winning 4x400.
Yet another freshman,
Nina Sato, contributed by claiming fourth in the high jump (1.71m, 5 feet, 7¼ inches). Sato, who also plays basketball for the Flying Queens, tied with the runner-up and one other jumper at 5-7¼ but was relegated to fourth based on number of previous misses
In finals on Friday,
Sarah Jerotich came in sixth (36:45.8) and
Selene Lopez eighth (37:16.4) in the 10,000, while freshman
Tiona Owens was eighth in the triple jump (11.75m, 38-6¾).
Junior
Kabroderan Handsborough was the top point producer for the Wayland men as he finished first in the 100 (10.21), third in the 200 (21.02) and helped the 4x100 to a gold-medal finish (40.25). Junior
Justin Scruggs was second in the 100 (10.31, edging an Indiana Tech runner by .02) and joined Handsborough, sophomore Nicholas Lewis and freshman
Devon Sanders on the 4x1 quartet.
Sophomore
Benard Keter provided the Pioneers with another national title in the 3,000 steeplechase (8:42.94) after he was third in the 10,000 (30:52.95) on Friday. And,
Kelson Pierre, a freshman, finished fourth in the 400 (48.27).
