SHAWNEE, Okla. –Harding scored a victory at the inaugural Great American Conference Track & Field Championships, on Friday from Eddie Hurt Jr. Memorial Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University, led by Most Valuable Athlete Josh Syrotchen.
Syrotchen added a victory in the discus and a third-place showing in the shot put to his Thursday wins in the javelin and hammer throw. Out of the eight field events, the Bisons won five. Cameron Bienz led a 1-2-3 finish in the high jump and DeMarcus Murphy finished first in the triple jump with the longest mark by a GAC athlete this season, 14.30m (46-11). In recognition of the team victory, head coach Steve Guymon earned the GAC Coach of the Year award.
Final Results || Friday Photo Gallery
Southern Arkansas placed second at the GAC Championships. After Doug Palmer’s win in the 10,000 meters on Thursday, Karonce Higgins accounted for 22 points as he won the long jump, took second in the 200-meter dash, placed fifth in the 100 and anchored a second-place result in the 400-meter relay.
Oklahoma Christian took third, led by Landon Huslig’s win in the 400-meter hurdles. East Central placed fourth, followed by Southern Nazarene. The Tigers’ Adrian Guevara won the 1,500 by 0.49 hundredths of a second. The Crimson Storm’s Garrett McGrady scored a win in the shot put.
Host Oklahoma Baptist, ineligible for the team championship as a transitioning program, had four individuals win titles on Friday and both relays run to victories. Blake Bartlett posted the fastest times in the GAC en route to wins in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Kenneth Combs won the 100 hurdles and both participated on the winning 400-meter and 1,600-meter teams that both turned in the top times in the GAC this season. A third member of the 4x400-meter relay, Clay Shepperson, won the 400. Ryan Womack also picked up an individual title by clearing the top mark in the pole vault.
Rogers State, also ineligible for the team title, had an individual champion in Baylor Harvey, who won the 5,000-meter run by 10 seconds.
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