GULF SHORES, Ala.—During its first full season of competition, the Southeastern University track and field programs have enjoyed a large amount of success, and is set to compete in their final events of the season.
Competition at the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships begin Thursday morning at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shore, Ala., and conclude Saturday evening.
A total 12 student-athletes are looking to end the inaugural season on a high note.
Miyah Ford will be competing in the women’s triple jump and will be a part of the 4×400 Meter Relay along with Courtney Gales, Ashley Higgs, and Namiah Simpson. The team is seeded 11th with a best time of 3:54.16. Ford is the lone field participant on the ladies side with a best mark of 11.8 meters, and is the top-ranked freshman in the field.
The 4×100 Relay team of Gales, Higgs, Simpson and Morgan Strickland also qualified and will be the first event in Gulf Shores at 2:30 p.m. Central Time. That group is seeded 17th in the field with a time of 47.94.
Simpson will also participate in the 400 Meter Hurdles. The freshman is ranked fifth in the field with a best time of 1:01.11. Simpson placed seventh in the 400 Meters at indoor nationals, earning All-American status.
Gales will also run in the 400 Meter Dash, where she has the 13-th best time at 56.84.
Julia Rohm will run the 5000 Meters, where she had the 16th best time at 17:41. Rohm was also an indoor All-American, placing third in the 3000 Meters in March.
On the men’s side, Trey Alford will compete in both the 100 and 200 Meter Dashes with trials for the 200 on Thursday and the 100 on Friday.
Darion Carter and Davonte Vanterpool will both run the 110 Meter Hurdles. Vanterpool is seeded second in the event, just 17 hundredths of a second behind fellow freshman Rasheem Brown of Milligan. Carter, also a freshman is seeded 12th with a best time of 14.64. The trials for the event are at 3:10 p.m. Central Time on Friday.
Darin Garland in the triple jump, where he has the 13th-best mark in the field at 14.62 meters. The event will take place at 1:30 p.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Kyle Manuel in both the shot put and discus. His best mark in the shot has him seeded 25th at 15.44 meters, and is 18th in the discus with a best mark of 49.43 meters. Manuel is the lone freshman in the discus field, and one of just three in the shot put field. The discus will be held at 5 p.m. Central Time on Friday with the shot put at 1 p.m. Central on Saturday.