Members of Houghton College’s track and field team put forward impressive performances over February break at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) championship. The meet was held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. While many of the competing schools dwarfed Houghton in size, the Highlander men managed to finish in nineteenth place, while the women finished twelfth, according to a Houghton Highlanders press release. Nicole Fink ’17 said of the caliber of competition, “It’s tough to walk onto a track as one of the smallest schools of the meet from a place in New York that nobody has ever heard of. Houghton was quite the underdog but we all arrived focused and ready to do all that we could to represent our school.”
The women’s team competed in the distance medley relay (Rebekah White ‘18, Kate Taggart ‘18, Nikki Garns ‘18, and Joanna Friesen ‘17), the pole vault (Fiona Daloia ’17), the 60 meter hurdles (Fink), the high jump (Fink), the 4×800 meter run (White, Taggart, Garns, and Friesen), and the 4×200 meter run (White, Garns, Daloia, and Kasey Cannister ’17).
In each event on the women’s side, the Highlanders placed sixteenth or higher, with the distance medley relay (DMR) barely missing All American status, finishing fourth with a time of 12:29.01, less than a second short of the six-year-old school record of 12:28.60. Also noteworthy was the 4x800m relay performance, in which the DMR foursome of White, Taggart, Garns, and Friesen came together again to, not only set a new school record, but also finish second with a time of 9:27.85 to gain All-American honors.
Of the record-smashing performance, Taggart said, “I have never run that fast in my life.” She recognized her teammates, and added, “Being able to receive an All American title is very special and exciting, but running with three other girls who are incredible teammates and friends is priceless.”
On the men’s side, the Highlanders put forth solid performances with eleventh place in the 4×200 meter relay (Cory McCarty ‘17, John Zamites ‘19, Chris Roe ‘19, and Austin Andryshak ’19), eighth place in the 800 meter run (McCarty), and tenth place in the triple jump (Malik Bullock ’19). McCarty ran a season best in the 800 meter run, with a time of 1:58.53. “Everything went as planned,” McCarty said of his solo performance, “I mentally trusted Coach Hager’s plan, I mentally and physically trusted my legs, and in the end I popped out a 1:58 which was a season best, and one of my fastest college indoor times. Hopefully as [the outdoor track and field season] comes along I’ll be able to get [my 800 meter run time] down to 1:54.”
Head track and field coach Patrick Hager expressed his pride in a Highlanders press release, and said, “[McCarty] ran with a higher sense of purpose, and it paid off.”
Hager also observed that the men’s 4×200 meter relay recorded the fastest time the Highlanders have seen in the last three years. First year student athlete Austin Andryshak ‘19 said, “I think it was obvious how prepared we were. Any meet where you are able to record your best time shows how much preparation you put in during practice….[Hopefully] by senior year we aren’t just there, but we are in the mix [to win].”
The trend of confidence among the men’s first year athletes also extended to Bullock, the lone triple jumper that represented Houghton at the meet. Bullock noted how much he enjoyed experiencing the NCCAA championship as a freshman, as well as befriending his fellow competitors. Shifting his focus to the upcoming outdoor season, he said, “The elements outside won’t be enough to stop me from reaching for the stars.”
While both the men’s and women’s national teams brought home a determined focus on the spring track and field season, the memories made at the NCCAA track and field championship will last a lifetime, according to Taggart. “It was an overall amazing team effort we put forth,” she said. “This will be something I remember forever.”