Muristek
Wednesday night was cut short due to lightning and Thursday morning brought rain, but by the end of the day on Thursday, the Warriors were shining under the Alabama sun. Day two of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships began with the Warriors advancing to a pair of final races, and ended with a memorable conclusion of a hard-fought heptathlon.
The first race of the morning featuring Westmont was the men’s 4×800 relay, which featured Andres Leon, Jason Peterson, Adam King, and Jack Vanden Heuvel. Running in the first of three heats, the quartet posted a time of 7:35.42, which was the fastest Westmont time this season.
Unfortunately, the men finished third in their heat, and only the top-two in each heat automatically qualified for the finals. So, the Warriors were left to hold their breath and wait out the final two heats of the relay, hoping they could snag one of two final spots.
The men were able to exhale following the final heat, when they discovered they earned the eighth and final spot in tomorrow’s final.
“It was scary having to wait and see,” shared King. “We decided we didn’t really want to watch so we went and cooled down. We went out and ran and then came to get the results after. Then, of course we got excited to see our name as one of the last spots to get in.”
The Warriors, who finished second in the 4×800 at Outdoor Nationals last season, will have another chance at All-American honors when they compete in the 4×800 final at 12:15 p.m. CDT on Friday.
“It’s going to be fun tomorrow,” said King. “I think we have a better team than last year and we’re going to try and place as high as we can. The goal is to win, and I think we can do that. If we put forward our best efforts, we’ll do great.”
Zola Sokhela, the reigning Outdoor National champion in the both 800 and 1500, has now given himself the opportunity to defend both titles. After cruising in the 1500 prelims on Wednesday, Sokhela did the same in the 800 prelims on Thursday.
The sophomore star posted a time of 1:50.94 in the 800 meter prelims, which was the fastest time of the semifinals.
“The plan was pretty similar to yesterday,” offered Sokhela. “I wanted to control today’s race, so I went straight to the front. Yesterday, I waited a bit before making a move, but today, I wanted to ensure I was in the driver’s seat. The difference in the 800 is there’s such little margin for error, so I didn’t want to take anything for granted.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow and I think I’m in a good position. It’s been a long season running a lot of fast times, and there’s really good competition out here. I’m ready.”
On Friday, Sokhela will defend his 1500 title at 3:10 p.m. CDT, and his 800 title at 5:00 p.m. CDT.
Also competing in the 800 meter prelims for Westmont was Jason Peterson and Jack Vanden Heuvel. Peterson posted a time of 1:56.10, and Vanden Heuvel finished the race in 1:53.60. Unfortunately for the Warriors, neither of the men qualified for Friday’s final.
The feel-good story of Thursday was not one that ended on a podium, but rather one that inspired the Warriors beyond the final results. Sophomore Lily Sween strained her left hamstring just 10 days before the beginning of Outdoor Nationals, and for most of the past week, there was doubt that Sween would be able to compete in the heptathlon.
However, Sween rehabilitated her injury and taped up her leg as best she could before giving everything she had left for the Warriors in 2022.
“When she strained her hamstring, we didn’t even think she was going to be able to start this week,” said Coach Josh Priester. “There were conversations regarding the reality that she might not start, let alone finish this week.”
The day started for Sween in the long jump, which was the event that Sween’s coaches were perhaps the most concerned about. Chatter around the stadium on Thursday said that the hope was that Sween could get off one successful jump to at least collect a score.
Sween not only made one leap, but ultimately took all three. Biting through the pain, Sween’s second jump of the morning was recorded at 5.15m (16-10.75), which was better than four other opponents.
Then, in the javelin, Sween gave herself a chance to compete for All-American status when she recorded a season-best mark of 32.91m (107-11). Sween’s mark in the javelin was the third-best amongst competitors, and put her right on the bubble of the top-eight.
In the final leg of the heptathlon, the 800 meter run, Sween was quite literally on her last legs. After posting a time of 2:38.72, Sween finished 9th in the women’s heptathlon, one spot shy of All-American.
An exhausted Sween collapsed at the finish after emptying both her physical and emotional tank. After a few minutes on the ground, Sween walked off the track under her own power, and took a well-deserved seat while surrounded by her coaches, teammates, and family.
Then, Sween was asked to talk about her experience.
After reflecting for more than twenty seconds, Sween said, “I’m proud of myself,” as she held back tears. “I was in pain the whole time. It was brutal. After the first high jump on Wednesday, I thought I was going to be done for the whole week.
“To be able to finish, I’m proud of myself, but to get ninth is pretty frustrating. I worked really hard this whole year, so to be only a few points away is frustrating because I hate losing more than I like winning. However, I’m thankful I got to be here because there’s a lot of people who don’t get this opportunity.”
While Sween’s reaction in the moment was bittersweet, the reaction of Priester echoed the sentiment felt by the rest of the Warriors.
“I was thinking back on my coaching career,” began Priester, “and I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with that type of injury this close to a major event successfully get through it. With that, she not only competed, but she was right near her lifetime best score.
“It was a gutsy effort, and she left it all on the track. She should be really proud of herself and I know we are all proud of her. Knowing she was in pain and to see her still give herself a chance, it was a lot of fun to watch. It’ll probably take a few days for her to have this set in, and for her to realize what she gave this week.
“Right now, she feels the sting of finishing ninth, but in reality, there’s so much more to it. It was a monumental effort.”
Overall, Sween finished ninth with 4.527 points, which was just 19 points shy of her career-best mark.
Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.
email: sports@newspress.com
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