WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- Freshman Payton Brack delivered a three-medal performance across the distance events as the John Brown University men's outdoor track and field team climbed from eighth to sixth place at the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships Thursday through Saturday (April 23-25) inside the Lions Athletic Complex.
The Golden Eagles scored 77 points to finish sixth in the 11-team field, showing marked improvement from their eighth-place finish a year ago. Brack led the way with bronze medals in the 1,500 meters and 10,000 meters plus a silver in the 5,000 meters, while the team combined for nine medals overall.
Brack opened his weekend with a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters, finishing in 33:03.65 for the fifth-best mark all-time. He then returned Saturday to claim another bronze in the 1,500 meters, running 4:01.15 for the fourth-fastest time in program history. He completed the weekend with a silver in the 5,000 meters at 15:25.27, earning Second Team All-Conference honors.
Sophomore Samuel Burkett joined Brack on the medal stand in the 10,000 meters, winning silver in 33:03.17 to finish just under half a second ahead of his teammate. The fourth-fastest time in program history also earned Burkett a spot in the program's top-10 in the 1,500 meters, where he placed fourth at 4:01.73 for fifth-best all-time. He also took eighth in the 5,000 meters. Burkett earned Second Team All-Conference honors.
Junior Chase Schermer won gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running 9:26.69 for the seventh-fastest time in program history. He also placed sixth in the 5,000 meters and 10th in the 1,500 meters, competing in three events to maximize points for the team. Schermer earned First Team All-Conference honors.
"We are so proud of both programs," head coach Peter Cunningham said. "They fought so hard for the team and supported each other exceptionally well. Our men climbed from eighth place last year to sixth this year, and we're excited about the progression. The men aren't satisfied — they want more — but we're thankful for the growth of our men's team.
"We're pumped to see our men's sprints squad finding its form. A program record in the 4x100-meter relay showed us we had the speed to carry through the rest of the weekend. We're excited for Chase Stone, who ran the 100 meters in under 11 seconds for the first time. Especially after a winter hamstring injury, it's a gift to see Chase put together a nice race."
Freshman Daniel Ogomo and sophomore Justin Akers also competed in the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters, with the Golden Eagles fielding full lineups in both distance events as they chased points in the team standings.
The sprint corps delivered a program record to energize the Golden Eagles' weekend. The 100-meter relay team of sophomore Chase Stone, freshman Emerick Wilson, sophomore Liam Van Der Horn and sophomore Nathan Dutil ran 43.93 to finish fifth and break the program record. Stone reached a career milestone in the individual 100 meters, breaking 11 seconds for the first time after recovering from a winter hamstring injury. Stone and Wilson both competed in the event, as did Van Der Horn. All four sprinters also ran in the 200 meters.
Senior Matthew Cook placed fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.35. Sophomore Zach Briscoe finished ninth, freshman Luke Preedy placed 10th, and junior Henry Zedler also competed.
The 3,200-meter relay squad of Zedler, Briscoe, Preedy and Cook won bronze with a time of 8:04.33, earning all four runners Third Team All-Conference honors. The same four athletes teamed up in the 1,600-meter relay, placing seventh in 3:34.15 for the eighth-fastest time in program history with Zedler, Briscoe, Preedy and Cook all contributing to the program top-10 mark.
Sophomore Noah Osterloh posted personal bests in both jumping events. Osterloh placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 6.93 meters (22 feet, 9 inches) and fourth in the triple jump at 13.98 meters (45 feet, 10.5 inches), second-best in program history. Sophomore Ben Coker finished sixth in the long jump with a personal-best 6.85 meters (22 feet, 5.75 inches). Freshman Silas Tugwell and Stone also competed in the long jump.
"Noah and Ben overperformed in the long jump," added Cunningham. "It was so exciting to see things come together at the end of the season for them. Big PRs helped carry them to more team points than we expected.
"During a 90-degree 5,000-meter race, we were allowed to hand water bottles to our runners to help them cool off and hydrate. Both our men and women were perfect examples of not allowing uncontrollable factors, like weather, to dictate their race mentality. They knew which opponents they needed to beat, and they went hunting."
The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday (May 8) when it sends a select grouping to the University of Arkansas Twilight at John McDonnell Field.
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