Harding men place fifth at Nationals

SEARCY — Harding men’s and women’s track and field competed last week at the NCAA Division II Championships in Pueblo, Colorado. Harding’s men entered the meet ranked No. 8 nationally, and Harding’s women were ranked No. 23.

Team Scores after Day 2
Harding Men: 37 points, 5th place
Harding Women: 4 points, 45th place

Thursday, May 22

Name                                      Event                                Time             Result            Place

Kelmen de Carvalho  Decathlon                    11:30 a.m.                             DNF           DNF

Kylor Aguilar                      Pole Vault (final)      12:05 p.m.                             15-9.75  18th of 22

Vlad Malykhin                Pole Vault (final)   12:05 p.m.                            18-1.25   1st of 22

Everett Mumme             Pole Vault (final)      12:05 p.m.                             16-3.25  11th of 22

Harding men                     4×100 Relay (prelim)                      5:55 p.m.      39.65 (Q)                 4th of 16

Anton Kopytko                 Long Jump (final)    6:30 p.m.  24-8.25          7th of 22

Tetiana Kharashchuk 400 meters (prelim)                        6:40 p.m.      53.85 (DNQ)        12th of 22

Omolara Ogunmakinju 400 meters (prelim)                  6:40 p.m.      56.61 (DNQ)        21st of 22

Olaolu Olatunde           100 meters (prelim)                        7:25 p.m.      10.00 (Q)                 2nd of 22

Lisa Retailleau                 400 hurdles (prelim)                      8:40 p.m.      59.37 (Q)                 5th of 22

  • Harding junior Vlad Malykhin won his sixth national championship in the pole vault, his third outdoors … it was also his sixth All-America honor.
  • Harding sophomore Everett Mumme earned Second Team All-America with his 11th-place finish … earned his first All-America honor in his first trip to outdoor nationals.
  • Harding’s 4×100-meter relay team of Hayes CoxDonald NwamereDerick St. Jean and Olaolu Olatunde set a school record at 39.65 seconds, the first sub-40 seconds time in program history, and qualified for Saturday’s final.
  • Freshman Olaolu Olatunde broke his own school record with a time of 10.00 in the 100-meter prelims and qualified for the final on Saturday at 7:50 p.m.
  • Junior Anton Kopytko placed seventh in the long jump to earn his second outdoor All-America honor and third overall.
  • Junior Lisa Retailleau placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles prelims and qualified for the final on Saturday at 8:25 p.m.

Friday, May 23

Name                               Event                                  Time           Result              Place

Kiera Blankinship   High Jump (final)       5:45 p.m. 5-6                       t-10th of 19

Spencer Helms       Discus (final)                6 p.m.        187-6                 3rd of 21

Lukas Stiper               Discus (final)                6 p.m.        180-6                 7th of 21

Yves Bilong                  Triple Jump (final)    6:05 p.m. 51-11                 6th of 21

Olaolu Olatunde    200 meters (prelim)                        6:45 p.m.       20.39 (Q)   4th of 22

Caledon Ruwende 200 meters (prelim)                      6:45 p.m.       21.16 (DNQ)             18th of 22

Harding women      4×400 Relay (prelim)                      8:50 p.m.       DNS               

  • Blankinship earned her second straight outdoor All-America honor with her 10th-place finish in the high jump.
  • Spencer Helms and Lukas Stiper both earned All-America honors in the discus.
  • Yves Bilong earned his second outdoor All-America in the triple jump and fourth overall.
  • Olaolu Olatunde set the Harding record in the 200 meters and qualified for Saturday’s final.

Saturday, May 24

Name                                   Event                                    Time               Result     Place

Cadence Sansom     Pole Vault (final)         12 p.m.         12-10.5    10th of 19

Casen Hammitt          Javelin (final)                  3:45 p.m.    200-10     18th of 22

Harding men                  4×100 relay (final)      2:10 p.m.    39.72        3rd of 7

Hanna Onufriieva      Triple Jump (final)      2:20 p.m.    41-5.5       10th of 22

Karyna Vehner              Triple Jump (final)      2:20 p.m.    40-4.25   17th of 22

Olaolu Olatunde        100 meters (final)      3:40 p.m.    9.95            2nd of 9

Lisa Retailleau              400 hurdles (final)     4:15 p.m.    59.03        5th of 9

Olaolu Olatunde        200 meters (final)      4:45 p.m.    FS                

  • Cadence and Hanna both earned Second Team All America honors. Lisa was First Team.
  • The 4×100 and Olaolu in the 100 both earned First Team. Olaolu’s 9.95 was a school record.