Kirwa Leads Eagles on Day One of NAIA Outdoor Nationals
MARION, Ind. -- The Embry-Riddle track and field teams got off to a slow start on day one of the 2010 NAIA Outdoor National Championships, but an impressive performance by sophomore Evans Kirwa put the Eagles on the board, as Kirwa took fourth place in the men's 10K.
Senior Howard Walls didn't disappoint either, as he advanced to the 110m hurdles semifinal round after clocking in with a time of 14.36. Walls will compete in tomorrow's race in hopes of qualifying for the finals on Saturday.
Both Eagles who ran in the 1500m race fell short of advancing to the finals, as Sam Vazquez missed qualifying by just one spot while Julie Mayfield raced her way to a 20th place finish.
Samia Adan and Mallory Jackson proved they deserve to be on the national stage as they both advanced to the semifinals in the 800m, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
The 200m saw Taylor Russell for the women and Bryan Ray for the men fall short of advancing to tomorrow's semifinal race, but both raced extremely well and were just short of recording personal best times.
The men's and women's 4x800m relay teams clocked in with times faster than seeded, but were both unable to advance as the men's team clocked in at 7:42.12 in 12th place and the women's team finished 11th in 9:21.70.
The last two events of the day were the men's and women's 10K, which started an hour later than scheduled. Alex Salinas raced her way to a 20th place finish, running a very strong race for the Eagles and nearly breaking a personal record, while Evans Kirwa put the Eagles on the scoreboard as he finished fourth overall, clocking in at 30:46.
The Eagles will compete in seven events on day two of outdoor nationals, with Walls commencing the day's events for ERAU in the semifinal round of the men's 110m hurdles.
To watch the 2010 NAIA Outdoor National Championships live and for live scoring, click here.