Lancer Track Team Sets Records
MARION, Ind. – Major revisions were made to the Grace College track and field record books at the NCCAA Indoor Nationals over the weekend.
The Lancers set seven school records, the men’s 4×800 relay team qualified for NAIA Nationals, and Sabrina Whitaker was named an NCCAA All-American in the high jump.
“It was nice to see some people step up to the competition. This was the best NCCAA indoor meet ever, with numerous meet records set, so our athletes had success against a very talented field,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond.
The men’s 4×800 foursome of Jonathan Rex, Lance Taylor, Ben Drew and Donovan Graham posted a school-record time of 7:58.67. They will run at the NAIA Nationals in Geneva, Ohio, in two weeks.
“I’m proud of the way the guys on the 4×800 relay came through,” Raymond said. “We talked early in the year about trying to qualify for NAIAs, but the early meets had not gone as well as we expected. But they stepped up today to run a qualifying time.”
Whitaker was the individual standout of the day for the Lady Lancers with a school-record clearance of 1.60 meters (5-feet-3) in the high jump. Her mark tied for third in the event, giving her All-American status from the NCCAA.
Nathan Brown matched Whitaker’s school record on the men’s side with a 1.91m clearance of his own for eighth place, and Luke Frauhiger broke his own school record in the pole vault with 4.13m (13-feet-6).
The men’s relay teams picked up three school records, including the 4×800 squad. The 4×200 team of Joshua Reichard, Brown, Seth Booker and Taylor finished in 1:33.84 for 11th place, and Taylor and Booker teamed up with Graham and Zach Speckman to post a time of 3:28.53 in the 4×400.
Booker picked up his third school record of the meet in the 60m hurdles when he crossed the finish line in 9.02 seconds.
The Lancers’ final indoor meet of the season before NAIA Nationals is next weekend at the Trine Invitational.