Men's Track and Field | 05.27.2022
GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Warriors put together a strong showing on the final day of the 2022 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships by going 5-for-5 with All-Americans on the day. The men's team finished 10
th overall for its second top-10 finish in a row.
Clayton VanDyke capped his storied career with a National Runner-Up finish in a competitive 800m.
Connor Turpin,
Nikolous Bertling and
Jennah Carpenter each earned individual All-American honors, and the women's 4x800m relay sent three seniors out as All-Americans.
THE MEN
VanDyke wrapped up a historic career with a National Runner-Up finish in the 800m. He was edged by Westmont's Senzo Sokhela by less than .01, clocking in at 1:51.10. The All-American honor is the senior's seventh and is his fifth top-two finish in track.
"Obviously we wanted him to win, but he ran the race he wanted to race," Head Coach
Mike Collins said. "We had an issue with windy conditions, and he led the entire way until the last 30 or 40 meters, then it was nip-and-tuck. The young man that beat him is an extremely talented kid. One of his comments to me was, 'I have never done anything but win or be runner-up, and you can't feel too bad about that.'"
Turpin kicked off the action bright and early with the half marathon. The race started at 6 a.m. CT and the Lewiston native finished in 1:09:47 to earn an All-American fourth-place finish in the field of 51. He is the first Warrior men's athlete to repeat as an All-American in the event.
"Connor is such a workhorse," Collins said. "He is very methodical and grinds it out. The marathon is a perfect race for him because preparation and mental toughness are such a huge part of it."
Bertling became the first LC State Men's Track and Field athlete to earn All-American honors in the pole vault. The senior hit a school-record mark of 4.85m in his third attempt at the height to place sixth in the group of 23.
"The coaches that work with him have been able to be a lot more consistent with his training," Collins explained of the Bertling's breakout season. "He has been much more consistent in his performances."
THE WOMEN
The women's 4x800m relay team of
Emily Adams,
Rylee Brown,
Maja Plaznik and
Geraldin Correa combined for a seventh-place finish (9:22.69). Adams, Brown and Plaznik capped their time in Warrior uniforms, with Brown's leg being a personal-best split of 2:17.04.
"The conditions made it tough for us, but Rylee did a great job trying to get us back in there," Collins recalled. "I couldn't be prouder. Sometimes the hardest thing is to get to the final, and they did the hard thing."
Lewiston native Carpenter made a statement to cap her freshman campaign. The dual-sport athlete (volleyball) earned All-American status in the high jump with a sixth-place finish. She tied her school record with a height of 1.70m with her third attempt.
"We knew coming in that she had the potential to be an All-American," Collins said. "It was exciting to see her do that. It is really challenging to be a two-sport athlete in college, so to have this kind of result at this point in time is such a nice compliment to her and how hard she's been working."
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