ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Patriots opened competition at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships on Wednesday, highlighted by a record-breaking performance from
Abia Kante and a school record from the women's 4x100-meter relay.
Kante delivered one of the top performances in program history in the long jump. After coming in ranked 13
th, a 6.17m leap earned second place for NAIA All-American honors. The mark broke the school record and earned eight team points for the Patriots. Kante is now a two-time NAIA long jump runner-up.
The Patriots added another school record in the 4x100-meter relay, as
Lillian Guzman,
Ritorion Vigne, Kante, and
MaQuoia Raglin combined to run 45.14 in the prelims. The mark shattered the previous program record of 45.9 and secured a spot in the final on Friday
Kante also advanced to the finals of the open 200 meters after running 24.01 in the prelims to automatically qualify for the championship race. Raglin competed individually in the 200 meter prelims as well, recording a personal-best time of 24.21 for 11
th.
The meet was postponed due to weather before the 10k finals began, so Alina Boshchuck and
Patrober Jepchirchir will now race tomorrow at 6:45pm.
Cumberlands sit in third place with eight team points after the first day of competition. They are set to compete in multiple finals tomorrow including the 5K racewalk and 10K where they look to add to their team scores.
Competition at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships continues tomorrow with the 100m dash at 3:20 pm. Follow along with live results available
here, and live video
here.
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