ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Southeastern opened competition Wednesday at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships at Karl Straus Track with a pair of finals qualifiers, a school record, and several performances that moved into the program's all-time top 10.
The Fire saw its strongest performances come on the women's side, led by
Olga Gomez in the 200-meter dash. Gomez secured a spot in the national final after placing seventh in preliminaries with a time of 24.08, a mark that now ranks sixth in program history.
Antiana Walsh also competed in the event, finishing 31st overall in 25.36.
Southeastern's women's 4x800-meter relay team also advanced to the finals after turning in a fifth-place finish in preliminaries while posting the fastest time in school history. The quartet of
Maci Mills,
Skyla Stevens,
Maci Mills, and
Jaa'Ln McBride delivered the program-record performance to punch their ticket into the championship race.
In the women's 4x100-meter relay,
Areeyanna Bonds, Walsh,
Alyssa Morley, and Gomez narrowly missed advancing after clocking a 46.28 to finish 11th overall.
On the men's side,
Dario Laing highlighted the day with a strong performance in the 400-meter hurdles. Laing crossed in 52.36 to finish 11th overall while moving into ninth in Southeastern history in the event.
Cedric Johnson Jr. and
Kevin Davis Jr. also competed in the men's 400-meter hurdles, placing 24th and 22nd, respectively. Johnson recorded a time of 54.83, while Davis finished in 54.37.
The Fire men's 4x100-meter relay team of Laing,
Derion Ayliffe,
Jesse Official, and
Kevin Davis Jr. placed 24th overall with a time of 41.24.
Jeremiah Rutledge added another notable performance for Southeastern, tying for 16th overall to qualify for the finals while recording the fifth-best mark in school history.
Competition at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships continues Thursday in Asheville.
