Allendale, Mich. – Heading into the final race of the season, the SF State 4x100 relay needed to finish in the top-eight of the finals to earn All-American honors, and that's just what they did, taking eighth place with a time of 46.46 at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships at the Grand Valley Track and Field Stadium hosted by Grand Valley University and West Michigan Sports Commission.
"I'm speechless, it was an incredible experience and motivating to make it back here!" said
Ashley Black who ran the third leg of the race.
"I'm very happy for these women," said interim head coach
Tom Lyons. "It has been a great year and quite an achievement to make it here, through prelims, and then run so well in the finals."
In a very tight race, in which only a little over one second separated first and ninth place, the Gators edged out West Texas A&M by three tenths of a second to snag eighth place with the second fastest time of the year for SF State, and third fastest time in school history.
"Competing at nationals is always an awesome experience," said
Maya Cabiness, who ran the second leg. "I hope we'll be back again next year!"
Janesha Anthony, who led things off for the Gators added, "Running with my team is everything, and there is nothing better than sharing this experience with these amazing girls."
"We ran our hardest and it was a great experience," said
Hilary King who ran the fourth leg for the Gators. "We had so much fun together and it motivates us to work harder and come back next year!"
The Gators quartet finished just one tenth of a second behind seventh place New Mexico Highlands who finished with a time of 46.36. Lincoln took first with a time of 45.34; Winston-Salem State took second finishing with a time of 45.79, Academy of Art placed third with a time of 45.80.
"There's nothing more rewarding as a coach then to see your athlete's hard work pay off," said assistant coach Nichole Schutte. "These ladies deserve every bit of it and fought through many trials to get here. I couldn't be more proud of them as their coach and I look forward to returning again next year."
As a team, the Gators finished tied for 67th out of 74 teams.
Link to Saturday's Results
