The Dordt University women's track and field team concluded its second day at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships with an All-American and record-breaking performance in the 4x800 relay. The 3-day championship is being held at the Karl Straus Track on the campus of UNC Asheville in North Carolina.Â
One day after qualifying for the finals with the seventh fastest time (9:03) in the prelim, the Defenders finished fourth in today's final to secure another All-American finish in the 4x800 relay. The Defenders quartet of
Arielle DeYoung,
Shelby Buwalda,
Addy Liston and
Corinne Braun were in the hunt for the title for most of the race and crossed the finish line in a program-record 8:56.98, breaking the previous record of 8:59.52 set in 2015 by Kayla Byl, Kelsey Lewis, Justine Van Zee and Lillie Koerner. They were less than a second in back of third-place Marian (Ind.) and two seconds behind runner-up Saint Xavier (Ill.). British Columbia won the national title for the fifth straight year with a time of 8:48. Four teams crossed the finish line with a sub-9:00 time in a incredibly fast final.
The Defenders 4x400 relay posted the 15th fastest time in today's prelim and did not advance to Friday's final. The team of
Kaitlyn Wercinski,
Ada Dekkers,
Ayda Den Herder and
Shelby Buwalda finished seventh in their heat, crossing the finish line in 3:51.31. Three teams from their heat earned a spot in the 8-team final. Life had the fastest time in the prelims overall (3:42.56) and two GPAC teams, Doane and Concordia, qualified for the finals.
Fran Travis placed 18th in the shot put with her best mark of 12.79m / 41-11.50 on her second attempt. Travis, who competed in the hammer throw on Wednesday, will be in the discus on Friday.
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