Wayland Baptist wrestling and track & field will be represented at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games by three athletes. Wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock and tracksters Benard Keter and
Che Lara will be in Tokyo for the delayed Games.
Mensah-Stock, a 2019 World Champion, is among the favorites in her 68-kilogram weight class. Coverage of the competition begins with round of 16 matches at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 2, with the gold medal match scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3.
Wrestling coverage is on NBC, The Olympic Channel and USA Network.
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(Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Plainview; event start times are subject to change; check your local listings or click
here for the latest TV schedule.)
Mensah-Stock, of Katy, Texas, last competed at Wayland in 2017 after winning a pair of WCWA national championships for the Pioneers in 2015 and 2017. She won the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 but the U.S. failed to qualify her weight class.
Keter, a Kenyan who attended Wayland in 2015, will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Preliminaries are set for 7 p.m. CST Friday, July 30, with finals on Monday, Aug. 2. Keter is one of 45 athletes expected to compete.
Keter ran a time of 8:21.81 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., on June 25, finishing second and securing a spot on Team USA.
Keter still holds the Wayland record in the steeplechase, 8:42.94, and won NAIA titles in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He later transferred to Texas Tech where he won NCAA Division I titles in the steeplechase in 2016 and 2017.
Lara, who will be a senior at Wayland this fall, will represent Trinidad & Tobago as a member of the 4x400 meter relay. Last spring in Gulf Shores, Ala., Lara helped the Pioneers continue their incredible tradition in the 4x400 relay when he helped WBU win another national title in that event.
It's believed WBU has more current or former athlete in the Tokyo Olympics than any other NAIA school.
NAIA members – including current student-athletes, alums, coaches and athletic trainers – will be participating in the 2020 Summer Olympics in various capacities. Between the 13 known NAIA members participating, they will be representing five different countries.
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NAIA Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics
| Name |
School |
Year/Position |
Representing |
Event/Position |
When to watch |
| Zouhair Talbi |
Oklahoma City |
SO |
Morocco |
5,000m; 10,000m |
Aug. 3 & Aug. 6; July 30 |
| Sam Atkin |
Lewis Clark State (Idaho) |
Alum/Assistant Coach |
Great Britain |
10,000m |
30-Jul |
| Kayla Miracle |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
SR |
USA |
62kg women's wrestling |
Aug. 3-4 |
| Che Lara |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
SR |
Trinidad & Tobago |
4x400m |
Aug. 6-7 |
| Benard Keter |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
Alum |
USA |
3,000m Steeplechase |
July 30; Aug. 2 |
| Tamyra Mensah-Stock |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
Alum |
USA |
68kg women's wrestling |
Aug. 3-4 |
| Jacarra Winchester |
Missouri Valley |
Alum |
USA |
53kg women's wrestling |
Aug. 3-4 |
| John Locke |
Marian (Ind.) |
Head Athletic Trainer |
USAÂ |
Lead Medic & Head Athletic Trainer USA Diving |
July 24 - Aug. 1 |
| Michael Ohioze |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
Alum |
Great Britain |
4x400m |
Aug. 6-7 |
| Colleen Furgeson |
Lincoln (Ill.) |
Alum |
Marshall Islands |
100m Freestyle |
July 24 - Aug. 1 |
| Phillip Kinono |
Lincoln (Ill.) |
SO |
Marshall Islands |
50m Freestyle |
July 24 - Aug. 1 |
| Ali Aguilar |
William Jessup (Calif.) |
Softball Assistant Coach |
USA |
2nd base |
July 21 - July 27 |
| Megan Jastrab |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
|
USA |
track cyclist |
Aug. 2 - Aug. 8 |
| Nick Christie |
Missouri Baptist |
Alum |
USA |
race walk |
Aug. 5 |
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