Northwestern Places Fifth at GAC Championships

Women's Track & Field | April 18, 2021

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The 2021 Great American Conference Track & Field Championships wrapped up on Saturday evening in Magnolia. After the track was cleared from the three-day event, the Northwestern Oklahoma State Women's Track & Field turned in a fifth-place finish among the ten-team field. The Rangers would see multiple school records broken and were led by Alexa Leyva, who would place third in the long jump.

"We showed the efforts of a team working together," Head Coach Jill Lancaster said. "Our points came in a variety of events. I could not be prouder of the efforts of the team. Our leadership of the upperclassmen led the way for us this weekend."

Leyva's performance would earn the Red-and-Black six points after leaping for a school record of 5.26m (17'3.25"). Aaliyah Stovall would place sixth in the event recording a jump of 5.13m (16'10") and collecting three more points for Northwestern. Cayla Smither would reach 4.90m (16'1") to place 10th in the long jump.

Freshman Austyn Pine would place fifth in the high jump, scoring a leap of 1.55m (5'1"), breaking the school record, collecting four points in the event.

Smither would grab a point with an eighth-place finish in the triple jump, finishing with a leap of 10.68m (35'0.55"). Natasha Stocks would place 13th with a jump of 9.18m (30'1.50"), while Kaitlyn McClary would foul on three attempts in her flight.

Freshman Emily Smith would continue to show growth on the track breaking her two records again this week in the 100m and 400m hurdles. Smith would finish sixth in the 100m hurdles with a finish of 15.42 seconds and collect three points in the event. Harlie Whisenant would score a time of 16.85, while Elizabeth McMahan had a finish of 16.99 and Gina Wilson would cross as the 17.85-second mark.

In the 400m hurdles, Smith would finish in seventh place, grabbing two more points for the Rangers. She would end with a time of one minute and 8.27 seconds, breaking her previous record by more than two seconds. Whisenant would come in 15th place with a time of 1:12.28. Jessalyn Rivet-Tissot had a time of 1:17.23, Mallory Paruszewski clocked a time of 1:21.48 for a new personal record. Alyssa Wilson would finish with a time of 1:25.65 and Emilie Brown had a finish of 1:28.15.

"Overall, this team came to work hard," stated Lancaster. "They came together showing great teamwork to produce a solid fifth-place finish with our sites set ahead for the future. The coaching staff was happy with how we did this weekend and are excited about what the future holds."

Shaylee Beck would throw for 9.71m (31'10.25") in the shot put.

In the 100-meter event freshman, Deja Lacy would finish in 10th place with a time of 12.71, just missing the school record by 0.03 seconds. Babette Bright, also a newcomer, would place 13th with a time of 12.93 seconds. Lacy had a finish of 26.93 seconds in the 200m race, while Bright clocked a finish of 27.33.

In the 400 meters, Shakira Lane recorded a time of 65.17 seconds.

Briley Yunker barely missed her record in the 800-meters, finishing in 11th place with a time of 2:27.72. Mariah Malloy would turn in a personal-best mark with a time of 2:36.15 and Angel Marshall would turn in a time of 2:52.99.

"We had a lot of great effort today," stated Assistant Coach Craig Binkley. "We had many personal and season-best finishes this weekend. We look to use this weekend to take the next steps in the future."

Jaeden Coon would clock a season-best finish in the 1500m with a time of 6:08.71, while Jean Dodds turns in a time of 6:29.97 for a career-best and Savannah Francis had a time of 6:56.51.

Junior Jerika Coon would turn in a time of 22:45.19 in the 5000-meter race to mark a season-best finish in the event.

"The distance women impressed our coaching staff," Assistant Coach Sterlin Broomfield said. "The times today showed a lot of promise for the future."

The Rangers combined for five points in the relay events, with a sixth-place result in the 4x100 meter relay of Lacy, Ladasheray Bell, Leyva and Bright with a time of 50.37 seconds, claiming three points. While in the 4x400, Northwestern's team of Smith, Yunker, Leyva and Whisenant would grab two points with a seventh-place with a time of 4:15.96.

Individual and relay finishes in the top three earn All-GAC First Team honors, while fourth through sixth place are named All-GAC Second Team. In the women's championship, seventh and eighth place finishers are named All-GAC Honorable Mention.

Women's Track & Field
Emilie Brown – Distinguished Scholar-Athlete (1 of 29)
Melissa Perez – Distinguished Scholar-Athlete (1 of 29)

For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Women's Track and Field, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.

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Players Mentioned

Elizabeth McMahan: Sophomore

Jessalyn Rivet-Tissot: Senior

Cayla Smither: Senior

Natasha Stocks: Sophomore

Gina Wilson: Junior

Shaylee Beck: Freshman

Babette Bright: Freshman

Alyssa Wilson: Freshman

Harlie Whisenant: Freshman

Shakira Lane: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Elizabeth McMahan
: Sophomore

Jessalyn Rivet-Tissot
: Senior

Cayla Smither
: Senior

Natasha Stocks
: Sophomore

Gina Wilson
: Junior

Shaylee Beck
: Freshman

Babette Bright
: Freshman

Alyssa Wilson
: Freshman

Harlie Whisenant
: Freshman

Shakira Lane
: Freshman