Drovers Strike Gold at OBU Open

SHAWNEE, Okla. – The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma women's and men's track and field teams competed in the Oklahoma Baptist University Open Saturday, March 30. Despite hindering cold weather, the squad put up some stellar times, broke personal records, and made USAO history.

For the track portion, the men started the day off running USAO's first-ever 800-meter relay. Facing 40-degree weather, Shevon Blair (SR/Kingston, Jamaica), Boniface Kiptoo (JR/Eldaret, Kenya), Justin Norman (FR/Edmond, OK) & Andres Slaughter (FR/Goodwell, OK) collectively circled the track to record a time of 8:24.96 and take the gold. The Drovers were the only team to beat OBU out of a first-place spot in the men's and women's relay races. USAO nearly took the top spot in the 400-meter relay as well, finishing less than a second behind OBU with a time of 3:25.17.

"First off, all glory goes to my Lord and Savior. I just went out there to give my all to make sure we came out on top and that's what happened," said Blair. "Preparing for the meet, I just work hard in practice every day then I go out there and just leave the result to God."

Blair also took on the solo 800-meter run in winning fashion, recording a time of 1:56.38 to capture first place. Conangela Senior (JR/St. Catherine, Jamaica) finished second in the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:28.14, less than five seconds behind first-place.

To round out the track portion of the meet, Aljani Bridgewater clinched second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.19 seconds while Fernando Gonzalez set a new personal record in the 1400-meter run finishing with a time of 4:54.21.

For the field portion, Chris Wise and Isaiah Hernandez finished in the Top 10 for the men's discus throw recording distances of 32.66 meters and 29.10 meters respectively. Wise and Hernandez also finished in the Top 10 of the men's shotput competition. Arlette Melendez (FR/Oklahoma City, OK) was the lone Drover for the women's shotput competition taking ninth place with a distance of 8.16 meters. Tucker Mora (SO/Waurika, OK) was also the lone Drover in his event. Mora took third place in high-jump, clearing a height of 1.85 meters.

The Drovers will be back in action Friday, April 10, when they travel to Wichita, Kan., for the KT Woodman Classic. Follow along during the meets with the team on Twitter, @USAOTFXC or @USAOLive.

"It has been a blessing being a part of the USAO track team and athletics in general," said Blair. "I have no doubt that we are one of the best in the NAIA."