29 Mar 2023 Two Harding track athletes honored by GAC
RUSSELLVILLE — The Great American Conference announced the Women’s and Men’s Track & Field athletes of the week for the third weekend of the outdoor season. Oklahoma Baptist’s Olivia Tate and Anisha Henderson earned the Women’s awards. The Bison’s Jonathan Elix shared the Men’s Field Athlete honor with Harding’s Vlad Malykhin while the Bisons’ Dakarai Bush won the Men’s Track Athlete accolade.
#theGAC WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Olivia Tate, Fr., Oklahoma Baptist, Beggs, Okla.
Tate competed in four events at the OBU Invite. She took second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Her 100-meter time, 11.86 seconds, finished just .01 seconds off of an NCAA provisional time. Both her 100 and 200 times, 24.47 seconds, pace the GAC. She ran the second leg of the winning 4×100 relay time. The time, 46.61 seconds, earned an NCAA provisional time.
#theGAC WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Anisha Henderson, So., Oklahoma Baptist, Plano, Texas
Henderson claimed the long jump title at the OBU Invite. Her winning effort, 5.92 meters, earned her an NCAA provisional mark with the the 10th-longest jump of the season. She produced the top three jumps of the meet. She also ran the opening leg of the Bison’s 4×100 relay team and placed third in the triple jump.
#theGAC MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Dakarai Bush, Sr., Harding, Tatum, Texas
At the Ole Miss Classic, Bush won both the 200- and 400-meter contests in races that featured multiple Division I competitors. In the 400, he ran in 46.60 seconds, the fastest time in Division II this season while his 200 time, 21.33 seconds, ranks ninth. He broke a 20-year school record in the 400. He ran the anchor leg on a 4×100 relay team that placed second.
#theGAC MEN’S FIELD CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Vlad Malykhin, Fr., Harding, Shostka, Ukraine
Malykhin, the reigning Division II indoor champion in the pole vault, won the event at the Ole Miss Classic. He cleared a provisional height of 5.26 meters, the second-highest clearance in Division II this season. It ranks as the third-best vault in school history.
#theGAC MEN’S FIELD CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jonathan Elix, Fr., Oklahoma Baptist, Hobart, Oklahoma
Elix registered three top-four finishes at the OBU Invite, headlined by a victory in the high jump. His clearance, 2.13 meters, threatened the school’s 39-year record of 2.15 meters. He secured an NCAA provisional mark with the third-best jump of the outdoor season. He finished fourth in both the long jump and triple jump.
OTHERS NOMINATED
Madalyn Harper, Gr. (Southern Nazarene), Kamrin Hooks, Gr. (Southern Arkansas), Tayvonia Lacy, Jr. (Northwestern Oklahoma State), Abby McElhaney, Fr. (Ouachita Baptist), Valerie Nzeakor, Fr. (Northwestern Oklahoma State), Kailyn Thomas, So. (Southern Arkansas) Darrius Blackshire, Sr. (Southern Nazarene), Neal Cole, Jr. (Ouachita Baptist), Tayvonia Lacy, Jr. (Northwestern Oklahoma State), Maurice McMullen, Sr. (Oklahoma Baptist), Daymien Smith, Fr. (Southern Arkansas), Ja’Kamron Zackery, So. (Southern Arkansas).
