Grace College’s track and field program enjoyed one of its most successful NCCAA National Championships in program history last week.
The Lancers produced eight All-Americans to highlight a strong meet, held at Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Okla., from May 11-13.
The men’s team placed fifth out of 24 teams, setting a program record for the highest finish and most team points (59). The women ended in 16th place.
“We left the meet with eight All-Americans, another NAIA qualifier, a new school record and several personal bests, so it was obviously a success,” said Grace head coach Jeff Raymond. “More than those accomplishments, however, it was great to see individuals break through some barriers and see their hard work pay off.”
Three Lancers placed second in the nation. Macallister Seitz, who was named the NCCAA Wheeler Award winner earlier on Saturday, was second in the discus at 162-feet-9.
Isaac Stuckey was second in the hammer at 168-3, and Bennett Parker was the national runner-up in the high jump when he cleared 6-7.5.
The hammer was a great event for the Lancers with Stuckey going second, and Caleb Dudeck also getting All-American honors with a third-place throw of 163-1. Seitz also placed fourth in the event, and Walker Hobbs ended in sixth place.
The men’s 4×800-meter relay team was the final All-American event for Grace. Hunter Reed, Tyler Houvener, Nathan Lane and Sam Hall finished the race in third place in 7:44.65. The squad also met the NAIA “A” standard.
The men’s 4×400 unit of Nolan Miller, Hall, Martin Schiele and Joel Zook broke a school record in the championship event, crossing the finish line in 3:18.34 for fifth place.
Hannah Treadway finished fourth in both the javelin (116-9) and the hammer (148-10).
Hall placed sixth in the 800, Caleb Brown was sixth in the discus with a PR of 144-10, and Miller placed seventh in the 400 hurdles.
Raven Arellano also placed in the national meet, finishing seventh in the 5000 at 18:27.35.
The Lancers will end the season by sending a group to the 2017 NAIA Outdoor National Championships, held in Gulf Shores, Ala., beginning May 24.