Kate Alderson and Rebecca Gustafson on the podium Friday

Track & Field NAIA National Championships

Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, CA, May 24-26

complete team scores
men's results
women's results
pictures day one
pictures day two
pictures day three

Saturday's Final Results

Fresno, CA (5/26) - Point Loma Nazarene has wrapped up their participation in the 2007 Track and Field NAIA National Championships. Over the three-day tournament held on the campus of Fresno Pacific University, 48 events (24 men, 24 women) were held.

The Sea Lion ladies gathered in 30 total points to finish in eighth place out of 59 squads after placing in the top-eight in five events. The men, snake bit by injury and bad luck, did not earn a point.

Azusa Pacific won the women's team title for the third time in five years after gathering 73 points. They were followed by Cedarville (58), Oklahoma Baptist (55), Wayland Baptist (54), Simon Fraser (47), Fresno Pacific (39) Olivet Nazarene (37) and PLNU.

Oklahoma Baptist used a strong final day of competition to win its first men's outdoor championship in 17 years. OBU took in 77 points, well ahead of Dickinson State (58). Azusa Pacific (51), McKendree (49) and Doane (46) round out the top five.

Point Loma had four events scheduled for Saturday. Senior Ryan Hayes kicked off the day with a 6:00 am start in the men's marathon. Hayes finished 29th in the 51-man field, crossing the finish line at 2:45.50.29.

PLNU's next event - the men's high jump - took place at 1:00 pm. By that time the temperature at Fresno Pacific University had warmed up to the mid-90's and the sun was beating down on the track, fans and contestants. Senior Lane Votapka, the 2007 GSAC Pole Vault Champion - failed to clear the bar in his three initial attempts.

The women's 1,500 meter finals began at 3:00 pm. Junior Julie-Anne Bailey finished the event in 4:50.83, good for 12th place.

Jumper Heike Siener, a day removed from a second place finish in the triple jump, competed in the high jump that started at 2:00 pm and was finally completed at 4:00 pm. Two years ago Seiner was the NAIA National Champion in the event and finished as runner up last season.

Siener passed on some initial heights due to her 5-10.00 entry mark as did 2006 champion, Ruky Abdulai of Simon Fraser. Once those two began jumping though, it soon became apparent that one of them would be the 2007 title holder.

Only Siener and Abdulai remained when the bar had been pushed to the 5-10.75 mark. Both jumpers missed their first attempt at that height but each easily cleared their next attempt.

The bar was then moved up to 6-00.75. Abdulia cleared the new mark, putting the pressure on Siener. The PLNU senior made three attempts. Each time Siener barely brushed the bar, knocking it over each time. The championship went to Abdulia, with Siener finishing in second place. Siener tallied 16 of PLNU's 30 points at the national championships.

Samantha From started in the 5,000 meter finals that began later in the afternoon but the heat forced the PLNU junior to withdraw midway through the race.

Besides Siener the other Sea Lions to gather in points were Kate Alderson and Rebecca Gustafson with third and fifth place finishes in the heptathlon, From in the 10,000 meter run and the 4x800 relay team of Lauren Quinn, Julie-Anne Bailey, Kellie Corbett and Kristen McGregor.

Alderson earned six points for the PLNU ladies in the heptathlon on Friday while Gustafson earned four points. From finished seventh in the 10,000 on Thursday. The women's 4x800 relay team placed seventh on Friday. Those finishes were good for two points apiece.


Friday's Recap

Fresno, CA (5/25) - Point Loma Nazarene's women's track and field team overcame scorching temperatures and top-notch opposition, earning 22 points over the first two days of competition at the NAIA Championships held at Fresno Pacific University. The Sea Lion men are still looking for their first points.

Azusa Pacific leads the women's competition with 45 points, followed by Cedarville (Ohio) with 23 points. PLNU's 22 points puts them in third after two days of competition. Three teams have 20 points. Twelve events are in the books on the women's side with 12 finals taking place on Saturday.

Azusa Pacific also leads all men's teams with 38 points after 11 events scored. APU is followed by Doane with 32 points. In third is Oklahoma Baptist with 31 points.

Senior Kate Alderson took in six points for Point Loma Nazarene and set a new school record in the heptathlon that was completed Friday. Alderson gathered in 4933 points, finishing in third place overall and earning All-American status. Another Sea Lion that placed in the top-six slots needed to become an All-American was Rebecca Gustafson who totaled 4651 points in the two-day event, good for fifth-place.

Alderson was just five points away from a second place finish, but was edged out by APU's Zora Golchevska. Doane's Katie Kosmos laid claim to the national championship by winning the final two events of the heptathlon: the javelin throw and the 800 meter run. Alderson tied Golchevska for the best long jump of the 16 competitors and took second in three events: the shot put, the 100 hurdles and the 200 meter dash. Her 4933 point total eclipsed the previous PLNU record of 4911 set in 1993 by Anneli Svard.

Gustafson took in four points with her fourth-place finish. She was consistently in the top third of almost all seven events. Gustafson's best event was the javelin. Her 119-02 throw was second only to Kosmos' 126-09. Katrin Merkel finished in 12th place in the heptathlon with 4196 points.

Later on Friday, the Point Loma women added a third All-American to their side with a second-place performance by Heike Siener in the triple jump. Siener's mark of 39-03.75 was behind only the 42-00.00 jump from Cedarville's Sarah Ensslen. Siener has earned All-American status twice before, both times in the high jump. In 2005 she won the national championship and was second last season. Siener will be competing in the high jump on Saturday.

Samantha From ran sixth in her heat of the 5,000 meter semis a day after a grueling 10,000 meter run. Her time of 4:41.49 in the 5K earned her a place in Saturday's finals.

Many of the events that PLNU competed in over first two days of competition were trial rounds. The Sea Lions have had a tough time in many events. On Friday, both the men's and women's 4x400 relay teams struggled in the trials and did not advance. The women's 4x100 relay team of Kari Johnson, Kelsey Sutherland, Gustafson and Alderson did not finish the finals due to missing the hand off on the first turn.

The 4x800 relay team of Lauren Quinn, Julie-Anne Bailey, Kellie Corbett and Kristen McGregor  finished Thursday's prelims in 9:20.23 and then ran 9:17.07 in Friday's finals, good for seventh place and good for two more Sea Lion points.

Two Point Loma women's 400 meter hurdlers advanced to the finals of their event: Gustavson (1:04.38) and Christina Metzler (1:05.22). However, neither competitor placed in the finals.

Nick Falcioni qualified in the men's 400 meter hurdles, but injured himself in the trials and did not run in the finals.

Tom Kempton missed on all three of his high jump attempts on Friday and won't be moving on.

Ryan Kimbrell did not finish the decathlon after missing on all three pole vault attempts and withdrawing from the 1500 meter run.

Besides Siener in the high jump and From in the 5,000, the Sea Lions will be competing in three other events on Saturday: the men's marathon (Ryan Hayes), the men's pole vault (Lane Votapka) and the women's 1,500 (Julie-Anne Bailey).

Temperatures are expected to remain in the 90's.

Thursday's Recap

Point Loma Nazarene's track and field teams competed in the first day at the NAIA National Championships held on the campus of Fresno Pacific University on Thursday. Most events were trials on the first day of action. Only three events were finals on the men's side with five events completed on the women's side. The Sea Lion women did pick up two points and early on are in a tie for 25th place.

The PLNU men were dealt a setback on Thursday. Senior sprinter Brian Perrin attempted to run the 400 meter dash but had to pull up due to a hamstring injury suffered at the conference meet. In addition, junior hurdler Nick Falcioni qualified for the finals in the 400 meter hurdles but may have injured himself in the process.

Ryan Kimbrell finds himself in 10th place in the decathlon after five events scored. The PLNU senior has tallied 3160 points. Landon Bright competed in the 3000 meter steeplechase prelims but did not qualify for Saturday's finals.

On the women's side, PLNU competed in two finals on Thursday. Junior Samantha From grabbed PLNU's first two points after she ran a personal best 10,000 meter race in 36:57.05. Her time is the second fastest at PLNU. Even so, From finished in seventh place and was just one slot back from garnering All-American status.

Senior Delainey Rockwell placed 11th in the pole vault with an 11-03.50 best. All other events on Thursday were prelims.

Kate Alderson, Rebecca Gustafson and Katrin Merkel each completed four events in heptathlon. Alderson tallied 2963 points, good for second, while Gustafson finds herself in fourth and Merkel is in 14th place.

The Sea Lion 4x100 relay team of Kari Johnson, Kelsey Sutherland, Gustafson and Alderson qualified for the finals in the event after running the trials in 48.45.9. Also qualifying for the finals is the 4x800 team of Lauren Quinn, Julie-Anne Bailey, Kellie Corbett and Kristen McGregor after finishing the trials in 9:20.23.

Sutherland ran in the 200 meter dash trials but did not qualify for the finals. Also coming up short was Merkel in the javelin throw. Bailey did make the finals in the 1,500 meter, however, after running the trials in 4:41.58. Two other Sea Lion ladies that advanced to the finals were 400 meter hurdlers: Gustavson (1:04.38) and Christina Metzler (1:05.22).

Many more events will be scored on Friday before the three-day meet concludes on Saturday. The temperatures are expected to be in the mid to lower 90s.



PLNU Competitors