Kyle Keck | Echo
The Trojans triumphed at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend as four of Taylor's 14 competing athletes earned All-American honors.
For Berends, the DMR All-American honor is just one of two prestigious awards earned over the weekend. Berends broke another school record in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:05.73, finishing at fourth place in her heat and catapulting her to the finals. The freshman phenom placed eighth in the 3,000 meter finals in 10:09.55, giving her another All-American honor and just under an hour to prepare for the DMR finals.
After earning All-American honors at the NAIA Cross Country Championships in the fall, Berends is now a three-time All-American as a freshman with the outdoor season yet to begin.
"Qualifying for finals was a really exciting moment for me," Berends said. "I've never raced an indoor season before, so this whole experience was very new. These honors are something I feel I've been lucky enough to receive rather than something I've accomplished through myself. I feel incredibly lucky to be where I'm at right now."
The 5,000 meter finals came with quite the controversy. As the race was nearing its end, meet officials rang the final lap bell one lap too soon. Many runners finished a lap early. Meet officials discussed the error and shortened the race to 4,700 meters, with finishing times based on the shortened race.
Although many runners ran a shortened race, Hall ran the full 5,000 meters due to his position at the time of the bell-ringing mistake. Hall finished the 4,700 meter race at 12th place with a time of 14:40.72.
"It's a privilege to have the opportunity to compete at nationals against the best athletes in the NAIA," Hall said. "The better the competition, the more I'm pushed to my limits and have the best chance to run a new personal record. It's also a great opportunity to represent Taylor well to the rest of the schools competing at nationals."
The rest of Taylor's competing athletes chipped in solid performances as well. Senior Kenny Higgins was the only Trojan field event athlete to qualify for the championships and narrowly missed the finals with a heave of 15.63 meters in the weight throw. Senior Brandan Wilchombe competed in the 60 meter hurdles but came up short in the preliminaries with a time of 8.56. Sophomore Tanner Dye made his national championship debut, running a mile time of 4:23.85 in the semifinal race, which was not fast enough to qualify for the finals.
Other notable performances that just missed the finals included the women's 4x800 meter relay, the women's 5,000 meter run and the women's mile run. The 4x800 meter relay team of junior Jane Hawks, senior Jenna Norris and freshmen Shelby Wilson and Oleson crossed the finish line at 9:30.53. The 5,000 meter run included sophomore Hannah Schroeder (18:19.87), senior Allison Steinbeck (18:34.24) and junior Anissa Richards (18:51.97). Schmeltz finished the semifinals of the mile run with a time of 5:14.40.
With a plethora of Taylor athletes competing at the championships, coach David Neville was the first to notice how strongly his team performed.
"Overall I feel like we did a great job competing at indoor nationals," Neville said. "In the finals, the athletes showed tremendous heart and determination to compete well. I was extremely impressed with them and their fight all the way to the finish."
The Taylor track and field teams will now use its indoor season success to propel itself to an exciting outdoor season.
"I believe that we are a growing team both in heart and talent," Neville said. "I'm confident that there will be much success as we move to the outdoor season."Photographs provided by TU Sports Information
