GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Mount Vernon Nazarene University men’s track and field team set two school records at the 2021 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium on Friday, May 28.
Doane and Madonna finished the meet as men’s co-national champions with 44 points each, and Indiana Tech followed with 43 points.
The MVNU men’s 4x800 relay team consisted of Colin Gaines, Garrett Gemmaka, Isaac Ramseyer and Clayton Slemmons. The team ran its best race of the season on the big stage, finishing 13th overall with a new school-record time of 7:44.25.
Terril Skinner also saved his best performance of the season for last. Skinner, who was the Crossroads League Outdoor Champion in the 110-meter hurdles, reset his own school record with a time of 14.53 seconds. He finished third in his heat and 15th overall.
Kyler Dickey was the last athlete on the men’s side to compete on the national stage. The Crossroads League Outdoor Champion placed 25th in the men’s shot put with a throw of 14.82 meters.
It was a very eventful experience for the women’s track and field program too. The team finished 23rd out of 67 teams, the highest finish for the women in program history.
Indiana Tech won the meet on the women’s side with 84 total points, followed by William Carey with 65 points and Concordia (Nebraska) with 63.5 points.
Kasey Keith was the first member of the women’s track and field program to earn All-America honors. She placed third in the women’s shot put with a personal-best throw of 13.97 meters. The third-place finish is the highest ever for an MVNU women’s track and field athlete.
Macy Weaver was the second athlete to receive All-America status for the track and field program. She finished fourth in the 26-mile women’s marathon with a personal-best time of 3:15:17. Weaver became the second athlete in program history to become an All-American in the marathon. MaKenzie McKirgan placed fifth overall in 2019 with a time of 3:14:57.
Two softballers named to NFCA All-Region Second Team
Freshman pitcher Sheridan Sullivan and sophomore outfielder Kylee Matern were each named to the NAIA National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region 5 Second Team, the association reported on Monday, May 31.
Sullivan finished near the top of the Crossroads League in various pitching categories. She closed the season with 17-4 record in 25 games pitched with an ERA of 1.68, which ranked second in the Crossroads League and 35th nationally. Sullivan was also able to grab two saves for the Cougars. She pitched a total of 133 innings and set an MVNU softball single-season record with 170 strikeouts. Against Sullivan, batters hit only .213 on the year.
Hitting from the lead-off spot for the Cougars all season, Matern hit .451 — which was second in the Crossroads League on the season — and had a slugging percentage of .660. She finished the year with a team-high 65 hits, five doubles, 11 triples and one home run. She led the nation in triples and struck out only six times.
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