In a wind-swept rain, Oklahoma Christian University won four events and nationally qualified a relay team at the Southwestern Relays hosted by Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, April 29.
"It was steady rain throughout the meet," Coach Randy Heath said, "but nonetheless we had some outstanding performances."
Capturing first-place honors were Edmond junior Heather Ray in the 5,000-meter run, senior Audra Bowling in the 1,500 meters, Edmond freshman Jordan Powell in the 1,500 meters and junior Kenneth Bowling in the 5,000-meter run.
Ray recorded a personal- and season-best time in her specialty, with an 18:40.33. Teammate Kate Hudgens ran second in 18:54.21. Audra Bowling, posting a season-best time in the metric mile, had a 5:00.79.
In the men's division, Powell clocked 3:58.16 in the 1,500 and Kenneth Bowling had a 15:28.61 over the 5,000-meter distance.
Runnerup performances by the Eagles came from senior Wade Miller with a season-best 9:39.33 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Chris Plank with a 15.34 in the 110 hurdles and junior Cole Ford in the discus with a throw of 128-6.
The OC 4 X 800 meter relay unit met the NAIA automatic qualifying standard with a 3:25.17, which was good for third place. Running on the foursome were three freshmen - Curtis Pratt (51.1), Josh Wayland (50.5), Cole McAlester (51.6) - along with senior Kevin Poole (51.7).
"That's a season-best time for us," Heath said, "and we've still got a couple of meets before going to the nationals."