Williams Sets NAIA Record

In This Section:

Cougars Finish 8th in the Country

Coach Steve Scott's Track & Field team earned a record 12 All-Americans and 2 National Champions at this year's National Championships.  As a team, both the Cougar men and women finished 8th in the country.

Sophomore Dallon Williams set a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) record in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase Saturday. Williams, ranked  number one entering the Nationals, won the title with a time of 10 minute, 18.96 seconds at the NAIA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Edwardville, Ill. Her time broke the four-year old record time for the event.

Williams' mark topped the 10:32.63 set by Southwestern (Kansas) College's Andrea Mohr in 2004. Williams, who achieved an Olympic Trials "B" standard time, could be selected to compete in the Trials steeple July 3 in Eugene, Ore., if there aren't enough "A" qualifiers.

Juan Mejia capped off his decorated Cougar career with his first-ever national championship, crossing the finish line first in the marathon.  Mejia ran 2:27:44, more than two minutes clear of his closest competition.  Mejia was ranked number one in the nation entering the event.

Senior Sergio Gonzalez finished his Cougar career in style as well.  A cross-country All-American in the fall, Gonzalez earned the honor not once but twice on Saturday, finishing third in the 10k and fourth in the 5k.  He timed in at 30:43 and 14:39, respectively.

Rounding out the men's side, junior Tony Guadagnini joined his teammates as an All-American.  He ran the 1,500-meter in 3:51, good for fourth place.

On the women's side, Ashleigh Davis just missed becoming the school's third national champion of the year, finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.36.

Morgan Sjogren earned All-American status on Thursday with a great performance in the 10k.  Sjogren ran 36-minutes flat, taking fourth place.

And finally, the women's 4x400-meter relay team finished sixth to earn All-American status as well.  The team of Lucia Asbury, Monika Valenzuela, Namadhjlah McIntosh, and Samantha Showns timed in at 3:53 to earn the honor.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic finish to the season for Cougar Track & Field.  Coach Scott sent a record number of athletes, got a school-record number of All-Americans, got a school-record number of National Champions, and saw both his men's and women's teams finish in the top ten.  Congratulations to Cougar Track & Field on an outstanding performance!