BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Missouri Southern track and field program picked up a pair of All-American performances and sent multiple athletes onto the finals in running events as the Lions competed in day two of the 2021 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Ryan Riddle started off the day by recording the fastest qualifying time in the mile, clocking in at 4:05.64. Riddle will race in the finals of the event tomorrow.
Riddle, Gidieon Kimutai, Gabe McCain and Brieon Randle nearly picked up a National Championship in the distance medley relay as there was just two tenths of a second separating first and third place in the event. The Lions finished third with a new school record of 9:46.89 as each runner earned All-American honors.
The Lions sent all three runners in the 60m hurdles onto the finals as Claire Luallen, Cornesia Calhoun-Whtie and Precious Olatunji each qualified for tomorrow’s finals. Calhoun-White put forward the fastest time of the trio, crossing the line in a time of 8.66.
Luallen picked up her second All-American honor of the meet and third of her career when she finished seventh in the long jump. Bringing added difficulty to the event, Luallen had to pause her jumping to qualify for the finals in the hurdles, missing a pair of jumps in the process. In her final jump of the series, Luallen hit a mark of 5.81m (19-00.75) to secure the All-American finish.
In the final event of the night for the Lions, Chardae Overstreet qualified for the finals of the 400m and will race tomorrow afternoon in the event’s finals.
Through seven of 17 events, the Southern men are in eighth place with ten points, while the women sit in 22nd place with four points.
It will be a busy day for the Lions tomorrow. Dean Howard will start things off with the men’s pole vault at 12:30 pm, while Adrain Broadus competes in the men’s triple jump at 1 pm. Riddle will race in the finals of the men’s mile at 2 pm, while Overstreet races in the finals of the 400m at 6:20 pm. The trio of Luallen, Calhoun-White and Olatunji race in the finals of the 60m hurdles at 6:30 pm.
