ENMU track on fire

CANYON, Texas — Though the NCAA track and field season continues to wind down, Eastern New Mexico’s team continues to heat up.

At the West Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday, Eastern’s track and field team set three NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks, broke two school records and tied another.

On the women’s side, a pair of Greyhound sprinters in Maijah Mathis and Kandice Miles had standout performances. Mathis broke her own school record in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finish line with a time of 11.71 to place sixth out of 30 competitors. Mathis broke her personal record by 0.19 seconds and set the 12th-fastest mark in Division II this season.

Mathis followed it up with another NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 200-meter event after turning in a sixth place time of 24.07, making it the 14th fastest time in Division II this year. Mathis closed out the meet with a record-breaking performance in the 4x400-meter relay, as the team including Miles, Kiana Covington and Brooke Walker came away with a time of 3:54.65, eclipsing the previous school record of 3:54.96 set during the 2015 outdoor season.

Miles set a provisional qualifying mark of her own in the 100-meter dash, finishing nearly neck-and-neck with Mathis with a time of 11.73. Not only did Miles’ time set the second-fastest mark in program history, but also set the 15th-best time in Division II. She also turned in a strong performance in the 200-meter, crossing the finish line in 23.99 to take fourth.

Kayla Stephens picked up where she had left off in the pole vault, recording a 3.35-meter height to finish third in the event and tie her own program record set at the WTAMU Classic and Multi two weeks ago.

After turning in a time of 4:49.10 in the 1,500-meter, Mercy Rotich came away with her fourth consecutive event win and her second 1,500-meter win of the 2019 outdoor season. Rotich was victorious in the 1,500-meter at the Greyhound Open earlier this season and also has a pair of 5,000-meter wins at the WTAMU Classic and Multi and the Ross Black Invitational last week.

In the 100-meter hurdles, Teagan Mosely improved upon her third-best mark in ENMU history with a time of 17.23, while Jessica Campbell turned in a 16.87.

After breaking into the ENMU record books in the shot put during the indoor season, Bryanna Williams followed suit in the outdoor campaign after her throw of 11.95 meters set the fifth-best mark in program history.

On the men’s side, Ivar Moinat turned in Eastern’s top finish, taking second in the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:12.34.

The Greyhounds will conclude regular-season competition on Wednesday, then look ahead to hosting the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 2-4.