Chris Yingling | Echo
His stomach is full of butterflies, and his mind jumbles with emotions. He imagines the hurdles ahead of him and remembers the game plan.
The gun sounds. He kicks off the blocks. God does the rest.
"I go into that 400 meter hurdle race thinking, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,' and he will take me through this race," said senior sprinter Brandan Wilchcombe. "Once the gun goes off, I just run."
Wilchcombe is just one of several Taylor athletes who competed in last weekend's Little State Championships at Indiana Wesleyan. He won the 400 meter hurdles race with a time of 54.24, also adding a second-place 14.98 finish in the 110 meter hurdles event. Wilchcombe performed well enough in both events to qualify for the NAIA National Championship.
Many other members helped contribute to the team's seventh-place finish on Saturday. Sophomore Matt Hall placed second in the 10,000 meter race with a time of 31:34.63. His time was good for fifth on the all-time TU list in the event.
Senior Gage Minniear placed fourth in the 400 meter hurdles with a 56.51 time, along with a sixth place 15.56 mark in the 110 meter hurdles. Senior Zach Warner turned in a seventh place 9.56.88 finish in the 3,000 meter hurdles as well.
In the throwing game, senior Kenny Higgins heaved 49.98 meters in the hammer throw for a third-place finish. Higgins also logged a seventh-place throw in the shot put at 44.33 meters.
The Taylor men's team finished with 56 points.
On the women's side, Taylor performed admirably with a third-place finish.
Freshman Alex Berends continued her stream of dominance in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a 10:57.32 time. Her first-place finish hit the NAIA Class A standard with her time, sending her to Nationals in the event. She also hit the Class A standard in the 1,500 meter race with a 4:39.98 second-place finish.
"I did well, but it's more fun to have success as a team," Berends said. "It's more exciting to have team success than individual successes."
Senior Elaine Schmeltz followed Berends in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a third place 11:11.94 finish. Taylor's 4x800 meter relay team of freshman Shelby Wilson, juniors Sarina Oleson and Jane Hawks and senior Jenna Norris qualified for the NAIA National Championship with a 9:27.68 third-place mark.
Hawks and Oleson also competed well in the 800 meter race, taking fourth and fifth place, respectively. Oleson's 2:18.18 and Hawks' 2:18.38 times moved the pair into second and third place on Taylor's all-time list for the race.
Taylor finished the meet with 95 points, placing behind the University of Indianapolis and Indiana Wesleyan.
Both Taylor track and field teams will be back in action this weekend at home. Events will kick off Saturday at noon.Photograph provided by Jim Garringer
