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Harding University Athletics

Harding Track and Field Team

Men's Track Scott Goode (5/23/24)

HU Men's Track Places Third at Nationals; Malykhin Wins Fourth National Championship

EMPORIA, Kan. – Harding men's outdoor track and field broke a school record by scoring 50 points at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Emporia State University at Francis G. Welch Stadium. The Bisons finished in third place, topping its previous best finish of seventh and point total of 28 in 2006.

Vlad Malykhin won his second outdoor national championship in the pole vault and Harding's 13th individual national championship in men's outdoor track.

Harding's women placed 34th with six points, its highest point total since scoring eight in 2016.

Below is an event-by-event summary of Harding's Saturday performances:

Men's Javelin
  • Sophomore Casen Hammitt placed 19th with a throw of 56.67m (185-11).
Men's Pole Vault
  • Sophomore Vlad Malykhin won his second outdoor national championship and fourth overall with a clearance of 5.40m (17-8.50) … Malykhin is Harding's 10th All-American in the pole vault and third national champion … HU's other national champions in the pole vault were Dorian Chaigneau (2022) and Malykhin (2023).
Women's Javelin
  • Senior Anna Kay Clark saved the best throw of her career for last … with her sixth of six throws, Clark broke her own school record and earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish with a throw of 47.64m (156-3) … it was Clark's third career All-America honor, she was First Team in 2021 and Second Team in 2023.
Women's High Jump
  • Junior Kiera Blankinship earned Second Team All-America with a 10th-place finish, clearing 1.66m (5-5.25) … it was Blankinship's first All-America honor and Harding's first in the women's outdoor high jump.
Men's 110 Hurdles
  • Junior Savian Bush broke a 43-year-old school record and earned First Team All-America honors with a third-place finish in 13.75 seconds … Dwayne Allen had held Harding's 110 hurdles record since running 13.81 seconds at Arkansas State on April 11, 1981 … it was Bush's first All-America honor and the first ever for Harding in the men's 110 hurdles.
Women's 100 Hurdles Men's 400 meters
  • Senior Dakarai Bush earned First Team All-America with a third-place finish in 46.05 seconds … it was Bush's second outdoor All-America honor, he won the national championship in 2023 … Bush has both of Harding's outdoor 400-meter All-America honors.
Women's 400 meters
  • Freshman Omolara Ogunmakinju earned First Team All-America with a fourth-place finish in 52.92 seconds … she is Harding's first All-American in the outdoor 400 meters.
Men's 5,000 meters
  • Freshman Josphat Meli earned First Team All-America with a sixth-place finish in 14:46.42 … it was Meli's second All-America honor of the weekend, he placed second in the 10,000 meters … it was Harding's 12th All-America honor in the outdoor 5,000 meters and first since Daniel Kirwa in 2011.
 
EMPORIA, Kan. – Harding continued its outstanding performances on Day 2 of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Emporia State University at Francis G. Welch Stadium. After two days, Harding's men have 25 points, only one point behind the co-leaders.
Below is an event-by-event summary of Harding's performances:
Decathlon
  • Sophomore Kelmen de Carvalho placed third of 15 competitors and earned six points for Harding … his 7,518 points broke his own school record … de Carvalho earned First Team All-America honors for his third-place finish after collecting Second Team All-America for an 11th-place finish last year.
Men's Discus
  • Freshman Lucas Stiper placed 19th with a throw of 47.98m (157-5).
Men's High Jump
  • Junior Antiwain Jones earned his second All-America honor with a fourth-place finish (five points) in the high jump … he cleared 2.13m (6-11.75) … last season Jones placed fifth … it was Harding's fifth All-America performance in the outdoor high jump.
Men's 200 meters
  • Senior Dakarai Bush placed 16th in 21.21 seconds and did not qualify for Saturday's final.
Men's 110 hurdles
  • Junior Savian Bush ran a PR of 13.83 seconds and qualified fifth for Saturday's final at 2:45 p.m. … his time was only 0.02 seconds off the school record of 13.81, set by Dwayne Allen in 1981.
Women's 100 hurdles
  • Sophomore Cella Nguema broke her own school record and qualified seventh for Saturday's final at 2:55 p.m. … Nguema ran 13.70, breaking the previous record 13.73.
Men's 4x400 relay
  • Harding's relay team was disqualified for one of its exchanges occurring outside the exchange zone.

EMPORIA, Kan. – Harding had seven individuals in action on Thursday, the first of three days at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Emporia State University at Francis G. Welch Stadium.
Below is an event-by-event summary of Harding's performances:
Decathlon
  • Sophomore Kelmen de Carvalho is eighth of 15 competitors after Day 1 with 3,874 points … de Carvalho's best event was the 100 meters, where he ran a PR of 10.98 seconds for 865 points … he was also the top performer in the shot put, recording a mark of 14.97 meters, good for 788 points.
Men's Long Jump
  • Sophomore Anton Kopytko earned All-America honors with a third-place finish … his best of six jumps was his first, landing a mark of 7.80m (25-7.25), tying his own school record … he is Harding's first All-American in the outdoor long jump.
Men's 400 meters
  • Senior Dakarai Bush, the 2023 outdoor national champion in the 400 meters, qualified for Saturday's final with a time of 46.00 seconds in the first round … he won his heat and qualified second overall.
  • Junior Derick St. Jean ran 46.99 seconds in the first round and did not qualify for the finals … he finished 14th of 22 runners.
Women's 400 meters
  • Freshman Omolara Ogunmakinju won her heat and qualified fifth overall for Saturday's final with a time of 53.21 seconds.
Women's 400 hurdles
  • Sophomore Lisa Retailleau ran 1:00.11 and did not qualify for the final, placing 15th overall.
Men's 10,000 meters
  • Freshman Josphat Meli earned All-America honors with a second-place finish … he clocked a time of 29:24.78 … he became Harding's ninth All-American in the 10,000 meters and the first since Harding Hall of Famer Daniel Kirwa placed second in 2010.
Scoring Update
  • With three of 21 events completed, Harding's men are in second place with 14 points.
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Players Mentioned

Kiera Blankinship

Kiera Blankinship

J
5' 9"
Sophomore
Anna Kay Clark

Anna Kay Clark

T
5' 9"
Junior
Dakarai Bush

Dakarai Bush

H/S
6' 2"
Senior
Savian Bush

Savian Bush

H
6' 2"
Sophomore
Antiwain Jones

Antiwain Jones

J
6' 0"
Sophomore
Cella Nguema

Cella Nguema

S/H
5' 7"
Freshman
Lisa Retailleau

Lisa Retailleau

S/H
5' 8"
Junior
Kelmen de Carvalho

Kelmen de Carvalho

Multi
6' 2"
Freshman
Anton Kopytko

Anton Kopytko

J
6' 4"
Freshman
Vlad Malykhin

Vlad Malykhin

PV
6' 1"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kiera Blankinship

Kiera Blankinship

5' 9"
Sophomore
J
Anna Kay Clark

Anna Kay Clark

5' 9"
Junior
T
Dakarai Bush

Dakarai Bush

6' 2"
Senior
H/S
Savian Bush

Savian Bush

6' 2"
Sophomore
H
Antiwain Jones

Antiwain Jones

6' 0"
Sophomore
J
Cella Nguema

Cella Nguema

5' 7"
Freshman
S/H
Lisa Retailleau

Lisa Retailleau

5' 8"
Junior
S/H
Kelmen de Carvalho

Kelmen de Carvalho

6' 2"
Freshman
Multi
Anton Kopytko

Anton Kopytko

6' 4"
Freshman
J
Vlad Malykhin

Vlad Malykhin

6' 1"
Freshman
PV