Concordia Crowns Five All-Americans on First Day of NAIA Track & Field Championships

5/26/2011 6:46:10 PM

MARION, Ind.—With only eight finals taking place in the opening day of competition, five Concordia track & field athletes earned All-American honors by placing inside the top six at the NAIA National Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan.

The Cavaliers sent four to finals in the first event of the day and came away with two All-Americans and came away with eight points. Sharayah Kenady placed fifth overall with a 180-6 and was closely followed by teammate Gabriella Dixson in sixth place after unleashing a 167-11. Amanda Federici added a point with an eighth-place finish with a 167-5 while Kayla Xavier placed ninth overall at 165-4.

In the javelin, Aria Nojima and Tim Wyland secured runner-up results while Jesse Staub placed third overall to help score 14 points for the men’s side.

With a throw of 150-2, more than seven feet off her career best, Nojima missed out on the national championship by s ingle inch as Mount Mercy’s Jenna Higgins recorded a 150-3 tp earn the individual title.

Wyland earned the silver with a career-best 218-11 effort while Staub, the national champion in the event as a freshman, placed third with a 208-4. Andrew Kolodinski, a junior out of Westmont College, took home the championship with a 220-8 on his third throw of the day.

In the only other field event final featuring Cavalier athletes, Bo Johnson, an All-American in the weight throw during indoor season, missed his second such honor of the year by a single position as he placed seventh overall in the hammer to score two points. Battling a constant downpour during the action, Johnson tossed a 184-1, exactly a foot behind the sixth-place finisher. Also in the hammer, Anthony Lantz placed 12th with a 172-1.

Several Cavaliers safely advanced to the next round in their respective running events. Chris Wilson led the way with a school-record 14.62 in the 110-meter hurdles to move on to the semifinals. Wilson, who had a previous Concordia best of 14.74 posted the eighth fastest time of the day and will be seeded 10th overall heading into the next round.

In the women’s high hurdles, Eunice Makinde, an All-American in the event last season, crossed the line in 14.59, just .06 off her season best, placed second in her heat with the eighth fastest preliminary time. In the flat 100, Stephanie Persaud crossed the line with a 12.12, just .01 off her career best in the event, to advance to Friday’s semifinals.

Persaud and Makinde teamed up with Catherine Sims and Kaley Jameson to secure a semifinals berth in the 400-meter relay with a time of 48.03 despite placing sixth in their section.

Hitting a season best by more than five seconds, Lauren Moran easily advanced to the finals in the women’s steeplechase. A third-place finisher at last year’s national championships, Moran toured the track with an 11:00.44 for second place in her heat. Her time held up as the second fastest recorded out of the three preliminary heats on Thursday.  

Several Cavaliers advanced without the need to compete as limited entries eliminated the need for additional rounds. Sims, automatically moved on in both the 200 and 400, Junia Limage in the 800 and Andria Scheese in the 1,500.

Needing to race to advance, Cory Pena eased into a second-place finish in his heat of the 800 to move on to semis on Friday. Pena, ranked fifth entering the meet, had the fifth-fastest time of the day with a 1:53.13. Missing out on a chance to go to finals by three seconds in the 1,500, Marcus Nelson placed 11th in his heat and 20th overall with a 4:01.58.

Concluding the day’s action, senior Samantha Robert closed out her CU career with a 16th-place finish in the 10,000-meter run with a 38:15.79.

In the multi events, Dominique Jacoy ended the opening day of the heptathlon in 14th place while Patrick Fennimore reached the halfway point in the decathlon in 15th place.

Track competition at the NAIA National Championships continues on Friday at 1 p.m.