NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore Carly Tucker etched her name into the Harding history books Friday, shattering one of the program's longest-standing records to lead the Lady Bisons at the Music City Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University.
Tucker's historic performance highlighted a weekend in which the Lady Bisons secured five new or improved NCAA provisional qualifying marks against a field dominated by elite Division I competition.
Competing at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility, Tucker unleashed a leap of 5.79m (19-00) to finish 10th overall in the long jump. The mark officially broke the school record of 18-07.00 set by Letha Stewart in 1989. Tucker, who entered the meet having narrowly missed the record a week ago, becomes the first woman in Harding history to eclipse the 19-foot barrier indoors. Her jump also secured an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
Freshman Roselyn Spencer followed in ninth place in a separate flight with a jump of 5.46m (17-11), while Eva Gommier placed 20th at 5.24m (17-02.25).
The Lady Bisons' Distance Medley Relay team of Kaia Bieker, Jayden Bowman, Tetiana Kharashchuk, and Josie Parks turned in a premier performance on the 300-meter flat track. The quartet finished fifth overall with a time of 11:47.97. The mark surpassed the NCAA Division II provisional standard and currently ranks as one of the top times in the Central Region.
In the throwing circle, freshman Yedidya Bangue earned a sixth-place finish in the shot put. Her top toss of 13.93m (45-08.50) successfully cleared the NCAA provisional standard, marking a significant milestone for the freshman.
Senior Karyna Vehner added another provisional mark in the triple jump, placing ninth with a leap of 11.81m (38-09). In the pole vault, senior Cadence Sansom continued her consistent season by placing eighth, clearing 3.90m (12-09.50) to improve her seasonal standing with another provisional clearance.
The Lady Bison distance crew saw strong individual performances led by Josie Parks in the mile. Parks finished 31st in a massive field, clocking 4:56.74. Dinah Winders followed in 5:01.42 and later added a 28th-place finish in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:14.91.
In the sprints, Tetiana Kharashchuk took 16th in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line in 24.96 seconds. In the 600-meter run, freshman Roselyn Spencer (1:38.74) and senior Kaia Bieker (1:38.76) finished back-to-back in 16th and 17th place, respectively.
Freshman Ellie Frye turned in a strong performance in the pole vault, placing 11th with a height of 3.42m (11-02.50). In the high jump, Spencer led the Bisons with a ninth-place finish after clearing 1.59m (5-02.50), followed by Ally Cheek and Carly Tucker, who both cleared 1.54m (5-00.50).
Up next, Harding returns to Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday, Feb. 20, for the Arkansas Qualifier. Hosted by the University of Arkansas at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center, the meet represents the final opportunity for the Lady Bisons to secure national qualifying marks before the postseason begins.
