McMurry Men Finish Third at Nationals; Succesful Showing for ASC Schools
5/30/2011 10:36:13 PM
RESULTS
DELAWARE, Ohio --- McMurry University junior Kevin Cunningham claimed a national title in the 400 hurdles and ran the opening leg of the winning 400 relay team to lead the War Hawks to a third-place finish at the NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday (May 28) at Ohio Wesleyan University.
McMurry scored 50 points in the men's meet, trailing champion North Central College (58) and runner-up University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (56). Concordia University Texas tied for 69th place (2 points). The third-place national finish is McMurry's best placing since winning the Division III title in 2008 and finishing as runner-up in 2009.
Texas Lutheran University finished 36th (7) and McMurry tied at 37th (6) in the Division III Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The American Southwest Conference finishes the 2010-11 year with a national title in women's soccer (Hardin-Simmons University), and third-place showings in men's golf (Texas Lutheran University), softball (University of Texas at Tyler) and men's track and field (McMurry).
Cunningham won the 400m hurdles in 51.0 seconds, outdistancing runner-up Demetrius Rooks of Rowan by 1.98 seconds. Cunningham was joined by John Keith, Gavan Bass and Kenneth Turner in winning the 4x100m relay in 40.76, just 0.01 seconds off the OWU stadium record. The War Hawks' Bryce Williamson, Terry Smith, Kolby Barnhill and Cunningham posted a 3:11.50 for second-place in the 4x400m relay.
ASC competitors added three other Top 6 showings at the men's championships. Kenneth Turner of McMurry ran 10.92 seconds in the 100m dash for second-place while teammate Paul Davis placed third in the shot put with a 17.39m toss. Concordia Texas freshman Chris Randle was sixth in the high jump with a 2.01m leap.
McMurry's Carla Burton, Kendra Coleman, Shanita Coleman and Clemitra Smiley combined to post a 47.12 time and a fourth-place finish in the women's 4x100m relay, the highest women's finish for ASC competitors. Shanita Coleman claimed eighth-place in the long jump (5.52m). Texas Lutheran posted three Top 8 finishers at the championships led by Ligia Bolivar who placed fifth in the high jump (3.64m). Destiney Jones finished sixth in triple jump (11.12m) and Monique Anderson recorded a 25.46 for eighth-place in the 200m dash. Mississippi College senior Liz Laubenberg capped off her s career with a 19th place finish in the 400m hurdles.
McMurry Recap
Texas Lutheran Recap
Concordia Texas Recap
Mississippi College Recap