MARION, Ind. – Southeastern University wasted no time getting on the board at the NAIA Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, earning key men's points and setting up finals appearances on Opening Day at Indiana Wesleyan University.
The Fire's 4x100-meter men's relay team surged to a third-place finish in the preliminaries with a time of 39.96 seconds. James Williamson III, Malik Blunt, and Cameron Alamia handled the first three legs before Davien Worrels anchored the team to a top-three spot and a berth in Friday's finals.
Worrels also excelled individually in the 200-meter dash, advancing to the finals after clocking in at 20.86 seconds for fifth overall. Williamson placed 12th in his heat at 21.25 seconds and did not advance.
In the women's 200-meter dash, Irmiris Mendez narrowly missed qualifying for the finals, placing 11th in the preliminaries with a time of 24.65 seconds.
Areeyanna Bonds finished 15th in the women's 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 1:03.56.
In field events, Alyssa Mobley represented the Fire in the women's long jump, posting a mark of 5.27 meters for 17th place overall.
The men's 400-meter hurdle prelims saw four Fire athletes compete, but all finished outside of the finals cut. Dario Laing led the group in 18th place (54.49), followed by Mario Thomas (25th, 56.05), James Turner (26th, 56.75), and Kevin Davis Jr. (27th, 57.25).
The women's 4x800-meter relay team, made up of Jillian Blaser, Amari Graham, Grace Feder, and Natalie Rohm, posted a time of 9:50.78 to place 25th in the preliminaries.
SEU athletes return to action on Thursday for Day Two of the NAIA National Championships, continuing competition among the nation's best at Indiana Wesleyan University.
