After competing in the Crossroads League Championships on Feb. 14 and 15, the Trojans look ahead to the NAIA Nationals on Feb. 27 through March 1. No days off.
On the first day of the CL Championships freshman distance runner Jaynie Halterman won the 5,000 meter race with a time of 16:28.55. This time is nearly a minute faster than the previous Taylor and CL Championships record and is also a minute faster than the NAIA A-standard record. Sophomore Sam Patterson and senior Audrey Brinkruff took second and sixth in the same race.
Halterman continued her record-breaking day claiming a Trojan record and setting the fastest time the NAIA has seen in the 3,000-meter race on the second day with a time of 9:35.14.
Taylor finished fourth overall out of 10 teams on both days of the championships.
So far this season, the Trojans’ squad has multiple runners performing at a high level.
Junior distance runner Noel VanderWall qualified for the NAIA Nationals last season in three different events. She has done it again this season, qualifying for four different races. These include the mile, 4x800-meter relay, 3,000-meter relay and the distance-medley relay. VanderWall also placed third in the mile on the second day of the CL Championships.
On a personal level, VanderWall talked about what long distance running means to her.
“I’ve been running long distance for a long time, and I think it’s always been just kind of like a release from the stress of school, or just like life in general,” VanderWall said.
She talked about the distance team’s weekly Sunday night meetings, “Intentional Sisterhood.” VanderWall specified that these meetings are vulnerable, where the runners share the good and bad about their lives.
“(The meetings) really pull us closer together, because it takes us beyond running and really, like, digs into, like, our lives, and builds our relationships as individuals and as women of God, rather than just athletes,” VanderWall said.
Junior thrower Alli Reed talked about what the throwers do for bonding time.
“I think that outside of all the time that we spend together with practice and stuff like that, we’ll get together and just like, have game nights, or we used to play, go play Guitar Hero together,” Reed said.
From a performance standpoint, Reed said she has done well at not focusing on track, but rather on people and other things in her life.
Coming into her junior year, Reed shared that she no longer finds her identity in track and wants to share that mindset with her teammates.
“But I think focusing on my teammates and focusing on my relationship with them and just who we are outside of being athletes has helped a lot with my performance,” Reed said.
The Trojans’ head coach, Derek Gay talked about the team’s conditioning before Nationals.
“So we intensify to a point but then the week or so leading up to the meet is mostly about maintaining whatever we’ve done so far and feeling good going into the meet,” Gay said.
Gay also talked about what sets his team apart from the rest of the competition.
“The athletes,” Gay said. “…just good, quality individuals who want to use their gifts to glorify God.”
Additionally, Gay said his players know what to do on and off the track.
It’ll be all hands on deck for Taylor now that the CL Championships are over. Their big test of endurance and skill will be the daunting NAIA National Championships in Gainesville, Florida, coming up.
