GENEVA, Ohio—With a pair of sixth-place finishes in the weight throw, Concordia University’s Gabriella Dixson and Bo Johnson became the first two All-Americans of the meet for the Cavaliers on the second day of action at the NAIA Indoor National Track & Field Championships held at the GaREAT Sports Complex on Friday.

Moments before the start of the women’s weight throw, Johnson became just the second Concordia thrower to break the 60-foot barrier in the event with a personal record throw of 60-11 1/2. On his second attempt of the day, Johnson’s throw added more than four feet to his previous best of 56-5 3/4. Johnson came into the meet ranked No. 21 on the NAIA Indoor performance list. Johnson’s throw is second all-time on Concordia’s all-time list behind former NAIA All-American Greg Schultz’ 62-7 3/4 school-record toss set in 2009.

Dixson’s best throw of the day fell shy of her all-time best but sneaked into the top six to earn All-America status with a toss measured at 55-1. Dixson entered the meet ranked fourth in the NAIA with a season-best 57-9 3/4 which would have placed third overall. Oklahoma Christian’s Denise Matton took first in the event with a 61-8 1/4 effort, St. Francis’ Jean Marqueling took second with a 60-1 while Embry-Riddle’s Reta Woodard placed third with a 57-3 3/4 mark.

 

After shattering her own school record in the prelims, Stephanie Persaud finished a sliver away from making the cut for finals. Persaud posted a 7.72 in the semis to shave .13 off her former school mark of 7.85, but came back to register a 7.74 which fell just .01 off the final qualifying spot to place tied for ninth overall in the dash. Persaud will conclude her indoor championships on Saturday as a member of the women’s distance medley relay team.

 

Following Persaud’s effort, Eunice Makinde slashed time off her own school record in the 60-meter hurdles with an 8.92 in the preliminary round to advance to the next stage. In the semis, Makinde crossed the line in 8.98 which ended in a virtual tie for the eighth and final qualifier for Saturday’s final, but Makinde’s time, broken down to a 8.975 by the tape, was trumped by Doane’s Jillian Ourada’s 8.972.

 

In the mile, Andria Scheese cruised to the final with a school-record 5:00.64 which placed second in her heat and second overall. Scheese will compete in a pair of events on Saturday as she will likely take a leg on the distance medley relay team as well as her individual mile. Competing out of the second section of the mile semifinals, Lauren Moran placed fifth in her heat with a 5:08.39 and missed advancing by a single place. 

 

A pair of Cavaliers will challenge for a title in the 1,000-meter run on Sunday as Junia Limage and Cory Pena posted qualifying times in the semis. Limage placed third with a 2:58.28 to move on while Pena set a season-best time with a 2:27.32 to take first place in his section. Limage came into the meet ranked sixth in the NAIA in the event while Pena turned in the No. 8 time in the 1,000 during the regular season.

 

Marcus Nelson placed ninth in his section of the 3,000 with a personal record time of 8:40.96 and missed advancing to finals by a little over six seconds while  Branko Djuricic cleared 6-6 3/4 in the high jump to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. 

 

Highlighting Saturday’s competition, Xavier will look to back up her No. 1 NAIA ranking in the shot put in the first event of the day at 10 a.m. Joining Xavier will be Katherine Tripp, a former All-American in the event, to give CU two potential high scorers in the shot.

 

Other field events representatives for Concordia include Eric Whalen in the men’s shot put, Ben Cogdill in the men’s pole vault and Djuricic in the triple jump. Cavalier action on the track begins with Scheese competing in the mile finals at 12:25 p.m. and followed by the 1,000 at 1:45 p.m. Alice Taylor and Sami Andrews will close out CU competition at the NAIA Championships with the 5,000-meter run at 2:45 p.m.

 

 

Men’s Results

1,000 (Semis): 1. (Section 3) Cory Pena, 2:27.32. 3,000 (Semis): 9. (Section 1) Marcus Nelson, 8:40.96. High Jump: T8. Branko Djuricic, 6-6 3/4 (2.00m). Weight Throw: 6. Bo Johnson, 60-11 1/2 (18.58m).

 

Women’s Results

60 (Prelims): 3. (Heat 1) Stephanie Persaud, 7.72. 60 (Semis): 5. (Heat 2) Stephanie Persaud, 7.74.

60 Hurdles (Prelims): 4. (Heat 1) Eunice Makinde, 8.92. 60 Hurdles (Semis): 4. (Heat 1) Eunice Makinde, 8.98. 1,000 (Semis): 3. (Section 1) Junia Limage, 2:58.28. Mile (Semis): 2. (Section 1) Andria Scheese, 5:00.64; 5. (Section 2) Lauren Moran, 5:08.39. Weight Throw: 6. Gabriella Dixson, 55-1 (16.79m); 19. Amanda Federici, 51-6 1/4 (15.70m); 21. Sharayah Kenady, 51-3 3/4 (15.64m); 28. Kayla Xavier, 49-11 1/4 (1.22m).