MARION, Ind. – Southeastern University broke onto the national scoreboard Thursday as Ashlyn Poulin claimed fourth in the 5,000-meter Women's Race Walk, while four individuals and two relay teams punched their tickets to event finals on day two of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships.
Poulin delivered the first Fire team points of the meet, earning five with a standout performance in her race. The freshman outperformed her No. 8 seed to finish fourth in 25:07.24.
On the men's side, Davien Worrels continued his strong Nationals campaign by advancing to the finals in two events. Worrels sprinted to a runner-up finish in the men's 400-meter prelims with a time of 47.47, then anchored the men's 4x400-meter relay team that placed sixth in 3:14.17. He was joined by Malik Blunt, James Williamson III, and Mario Thomas.
The Fire women's 4x400-meter relay also earned a spot in the finals. Areeyanna Bonds, Jaa'Ln McBride, Maci Mills, and Irmiris Mendez combined for a second-place prelim finish, crossing in 3:48.70.
Mendez led all Fire athletes with three finals qualifications. Individually, she secured a spot in the 100-meter hurdles final with a fifth-place time of 14.00 seconds, then advanced in the 100-meter dash with a seventh-place 11.85 finish.
Maci Mills rounded out SEU's individual qualifiers by earning a spot in the 800-meter final. The sophomore clocked a 2:11.36, good for sixth place in the prelims.
After two days of competition, the Southeastern women sit tied for 27th in the team standings with five points. British Columbia leads the women's competition with 44 points, followed by Dickinson State (25). On the men's side, British Columbia also leads with 44 points, while Carroll College trails in second with 34.
Seven additional Fire athletes competed in Thursday prelims but did not advance to the finals:
The Fire will return to the track Friday with multiple opportunities to earn national hardware and team points as the NAIA National Championships continue at Indiana Wesleyan University. First race for the Fire will be the men's 4x100m relay at 1:50 p.m..
