Point Park T&F opens indoor with 4 NAIA national qualifiers, 6 schools records at YSU
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Point Park University track and field teams came out of the blocks strong on Friday at their indoor season openers. The Pioneers had four NAIA national qualifiers and set six school records at the Youngstown State University Icebreaker to start the year.
In a meet featuring 37 teams at the Watson & Tressel Training Site with many of them from NCAA Division I and II, the Pioneers made their presence known. Veterans and newcomers were both included in that showing.
"Today was a nice start to the indoor season," said head coach Tim Creamer. "The results show how hard the men and women have worked over the past few months. To have four NAIA national qualifiers between both teams and six school records set in the first meet has me excited to see how this season unfolds by the end of February."
In the NAIA, any athlete who meets or exceeds a qualifying standard at a sanctioned meet qualifies for the NAIA National Championships. Point Park had four of those -- two each from returners and newcomers -- along with the six school records that came from four different individuals and one relay.
Friday's meet opened up the 10th anniversary season for the Point Park track and field program. Fittingly, the Pioneers returned to the same site as their first-ever meet 10 seasons ago on Dec. 4, 2014.
Chevaughn Fletcher, a sophomore thrower from Jamaica, gave Point Park a first-place victory in the weight throw. He tossed a mark of 19.65 meters to easily clear the NAIA 'A' standard and qualify for nationals. That also surpassed his own school record from last year by more than four meters. It is his first NAIA national meet qualification.
Senior Collins Eze made another NAIA national meet in his career by placing second in the triple jump. He did so with a mark of 14.48 meters for second place at YSU. That hit the NAIA 'A' standard and came in his last jump of the day in the finals. Eze was also eighth in the long jump.
Akeem Mustapha, a freshman jumper from Harrisburg, Pa., qualified for nationals in the first event of his career. He gave the Pioneers a great start to the meet by hitting the NAIA 'B' standard in the long jump. That was with a distance of 7.03 meters, good for sixth place. He also placed seventh in the high jump.
Emma Roemer, a freshman from Hamburg, Germany, gave the Point Park women a national qualification with a school record in the long jump. She jumped 5.52 meters to it the NAIA 'B' standard right on the number. That gave her sixth place to start out her day.
Kanye Mills, a freshman sprinter/hurdler from Blackwood, N.J., arrived on the scence to set school records in the first two events of his career. He ran the 60-meter hurdles in 8.44 seconds for 15th place at the meet. He had another Top 20 finish in the 400 meters, which was another school record at 49.82 seconds. That gave Mills the indoor school record and made him just the second runner in school history to run under 50 seconds indoor or outdoor.
The men's 4x400 relay ended the night with a school record and a win in its heat beating Pitt in the process. With Mills as the anchor and being preceeded by Steve Bradley, Juan Barrera and Elijah James, the Pioneers posted a time of 3:20.62 in the second heat. That placed fifth in the event. Point Park was running in third place in its heat before the last leg with Mills moving up to first.
Ramiro Ulunque and Elijah James gave the Pioneers two strong showings in the men's 800 meters. A pair of juniors, Ulunque placed third with James right behind in fourth. Ulunque had a time of 1:55 and James 1:56 for the second- and third-best indoor 800s in school history. Only Xavier Stephens with his school-record 1:54 has been better. Ulunque was just a half second off the minimum NAIA national standard with James not far off either.
Senior Damir Lomax had a close encounter with an NAIA mark but came up a quarter of a second shy in the men's 60-meter dash prelims. He ran a time of 7.11 seconds. That put him 26th place at YSU.
Another women's school record fell with Diamond Rush in the 200 meters. A junior from Detroit, Mich., and a transfer from Tennessee Tech, Rush ran a time of 25.83 seconds for the best in school history. That gave her 16th place. Rush later anchored the women's 4x400 relay that placed eighth with Natalea Hillen, Makayla Rice and Karen Rios teaming up.
Senior Allison Plassio gave the Point Park women their highest placement on the day. She took fourth place in a 3,000-meter race that was very competitive at the top. Plassio led for the early laps and finished with a big PR of 10:51. Kiyara Sawyers placed 11th in the same race.
Other Top 20 finishes on the women's side came from Natalea Hillen 16th in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.39 seconds and 18th from Karen Rios in the 800 meters. Makayla Rice placed 21st in the triple jump.
Point Park will have another meet before the semester is over -- the first time the program has run multiple meets in December. The Pioneers will go to the Indiana Tech Warrior Open next Saturday, Dec. 9 to test themselves at the meet hosted by the NAIA powerhouse program at their indoor facility named for their head coach Doug Edgar.
