LAKELAND, Fla. — Southeastern opened its outdoor track & field season Saturday at the SEU Fire Invitational at Tenoroc High School, turning in a strong collection of early-season performances across both the men's and women's teams.
While the outdoor season is just beginning and national rankings remain fluid this early in the year, the Fire still produced multiple NAIA-leading marks and several national qualifying standards as athletes began building toward the championship portion of the season.
Men Post Multiple NAIA-Leading Marks
Dario Laing delivered one of the top performances of the meet, winning the preliminary round of the 110-meter hurdles in 14.41 seconds. The mark met the NAIA "B" standard and currently ranks No. 1 in the NAIA. Laing later added another strong showing in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing second in 52.99 while again meeting the NAIA "B" standard and holding the top time in the NAIA early in the outdoor season.
Trebreh Brown added a victory in the 400-meter dash, crossing the line in 48.34 to record the No. 2 mark nationally, while
Kodi Quimby dominated the 5,000-meter race walk, winning in 24:03.83. Quimby's performance met the NAIA "B" standard and moved him to No. 2 in the NAIA rankings, while also establishing the fastest mark in program history.
Southeastern also saw strong depth in the race walk event, with
Nathaniel Chenowith finishing second in 25:29.31 — also a "B" standard and currently No. 4 in the NAIA — and
Gabriel Arce-Gonzalez taking third.
In the middle-distance events,
Jack Brooks placed third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.86, ranking No. 3 nationally while moving to No. 3 on the SEU all-time list. Brooks later added a fifth-place finish in the 1500 meters in 4:01.14.
The Fire's 4x400-meter relay team of Nathan Duncan,
Levi Gustafson,
Tyler Moody, and
Derek Robinson also captured a victory, finishing in 3:35.44.
In the field events,
Jonathan Grant claimed the pole vault title with a clearance of 4.30 meters, tied for No. 4 in the NAIA, while
Jeremiah Rutledge and
Isaiah Burns both cleared 1.95 meters in the high jump to place second and third respectively.
Lucky Baldwin led Southeastern in the throws, winning the hammer throw with a mark of 40.53 meters and adding a third-place finish in the discus at 40.20 meters.
Cody Rand placed second in the hammer at 36.11 meters.,
The Fire also received strong multi-event performances from
Jeremiah Stewart and
Zackary Cho-Sam in the decathlon, finishing second and third with scores of 4,444 and 4,205, respectively.
Women Produce Several NAIA No. 1 Marks
The Southeastern women also opened the season with multiple national-leading performances.
Ashlyn Poulin highlighted the meet with a dominant victory in the 5,000-meter race walk, posting a time of 23:24.73 to record the No. 1 mark in the NAIA while also hitting the NAIA "A" standard. The performance established a new SEU program-best mark and even surpassed the men's "A" standard for the event.
Maci Mills delivered a pair of impressive races, recording the No. 1 NAIA time in both the 1500 meters (4:46.52) and 800 meters (2:14.55) while placing among the top performers in program history.
Ashlin Price also climbed to the top of the national list in the 10,000 meters, running 39:38.24 to post the No. 1 mark in the NAIA and enter the SEU all-time top 10.
Areeyanna Bonds added another national-leading performance in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing second in 1:02.84 while meeting the NAIA "B" standard.
Alyssa Morley matched that national ranking in the triple jump, winning the event with a mark of 11.32 meters to move to No. 1 in the NAIA.
The Fire also dominated the heptathlon, with
Grace Coggins claiming the title with 3,626 points and
Jessica Brown finishing second with 3,520.
Southeastern continued to show strength in distance events as well.
Acadia Donovan and
Joslyn Armstrong finished second and third in the 10,000 meters, while
Izzy Colebank placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:23.16.
In the sprints,
Antiana Walsh won the 200-meter dash in 24.66 to record the No. 2 mark in the NAIA, while
Ar'Briel Scott placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.96.
The Fire also produced several top-three finishes in the field events.
Emma Terry won the shot put with a throw of 12.21 meters and later captured the javelin title at 36.51 meters, while
MarieAnge Moussignac placed second in the hammer throw with a mark of 47.90 meters to move to No. 2 in the NAIA.
Additional podium finishes came from
Madison Bates and
Aubrey Sellers in the pole vault, along with strong performances in the long jump from
Alyssa Morley and
Alexandria Gonzalez.
Early Season Momentum
With numerous NAIA qualifying marks and several national-leading performances already recorded, Southeastern begins the outdoor season with considerable momentum as athletes continue building toward conference and national championship meets later this spring.
