GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Embry-Riddle women's track and field team had very successful day on Friday at the 2015 NAIA Outdoor National Championships. The second day of competition saw six Eagles claim All-America honors in three different events.
Halle Green Anderson earned the first All-America award of her career on Friday as she placed fifth overall in the long jump with a leap of 5.74m. Green-Anderson will earn All-America honors again on Saturday in the 100m hurdles. The top eight finishers automatically become All-Americans and Green-Anderson is one of the eight finalists after finishing third overall in Friday's prelims with a personal-record time of 13.87.
The second Eagle to earn All-America honors on Friday was
Maite Moscoso. The sophomore finished third in the 5,000m Race Walk with a time of 25:56.32, more than 16 seconds faster than the fourth place finisher. This was the first outdoor All-America award for Moscoso; she is already a two-time indoor All-American in the 3000m Race Walk.
ERAU's final All-America awards of the day came in the 4x800m relay, which was run as a two-heat timed final. The Eagle squad of
Rebecca Love,
Martina Tafoya, and
Ellie Staker ran a fantastic race, winning their heat and finishing fourth overall with a time new school-record time of 8:57.03. After starting the third leg of the race in the middle of the pack,
Marina LeVine passed all of the other competitors before handing the baton to Staker who increased the lead for the Eagles as she ran the final 800m in 2:03.
Tafoya, LeVine, and Staker also competed in the prelims of the 4x400m relay with
Kristen Metcalfe. The four Eagles dominated the first heat of the race as they won it by more than two seconds with a time of 3:46.72, which also broke a school record. The team qualified for Saturday's final as they wound up with the fifth best overall time.
Staker and Metcalfe also qualified for the finals of individual events on Friday. Staker had the fastest qualifying time in the 800m prelims (2:06.63), while Metcalfe had the eighth-fastest qualifying time in the 400m (56.16); both women advanced the finals of their respective events, which will take place on Saturday. Staker is the favorite to win national championship in the 800m as she came into the competition with the best time in the nation.
Daisha Brown also competed in the triple jump on Friday evening. The freshman finished 19
th overall with a leap of 10.98m.
The 2015 NAIA Outdoor National Championships will conclude on Saturday. Competition will begin at 6:00 a.m. when ERAU's
Eliza Gazda competes in the marathon.
Click HERE for compete results from the 2015 NAIA Outdoor National Championships.
