Results
Winston-Salem, NC – The Patriots traveled to North Carolina to compete at the JDL Fast Track on Saturday morning. UC's racewalkers and 4x800 relay teams were in action for the first time in 2024 and did not disappoint.
 
Five Patriots took to the starting line for the 3K racewalk. On the women's side, Heather Durrant clocked a lightning fast 13:15.14 finish, clipping the NAIA Championship record by over 35 seconds. Durrant etches her name in the record books at UC and at JDL Fast Track as well with her time. Alexa Governor finished second with a 14:56.92, hitting an A standard by almost two minutes. Isabelle Blatz rounded out UC's women in the event with a 20:49.92 for sixth.
 
The duo of Cole Bennett and Dillan Melchiore joined in on the fun in the racewalk, finishing first and second with the two fastest times in the NAIA this season. Bennett clocked a 13:13.57 for first place and an A cut while Melchiore crossed the finish in 13:25.21 for another A standard as well.
 
The men's 4x800 dominated their event as well, finishing in 7:47.30 for the Patriots fifth NAIA national cut of the day. All times in this event are converted to an even faster time due to the race being run on a flat 200-meter track. Luca Santorum and Andrew Yeary handled the first two legs with Santorum running a 1:54.90 split out of the blocks. Hauke Trost took over for the third leg before handing the baton to the anchor, Victor Carpeggiani.
 
UC's women's 4x800 A squad rounded out the NAIA national standard finishers in this meet after clocking a 9:41.16 pre-conversion. Ashley Terry started the race before Elizabeth Lucason took over running a 2:20.77 split, the fastest of the group. Ella Henage handled the third leg before Alina Boshchuk ran the final two laps, finishing second overall. Cumberlands B squad finished just behind their teammates for third place. Savannah Hossfeld and Durrant took the baton for the first two legs while Elisa Helferich and Emma Campbell finished the race, combining for a 10:05.88 pre-conversion finish.
 
The Pats will return to the track next week as they head to Louisville, KY for the Bellarmine Open.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.