- Results
- Day Three Replay
 
ALLENDALE, Mich. – Tarleton State wrapped up action at the 2015 NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships in historic fashion, winning the men's 4x400m relay in a school record time of 3:08.25.
 
"I think over the course of three days each athlete competed very well", said Tarleton head coach Pat Ponder. "You look at the highs and the lows, the highs were by the athletes who have been to the NCAA championships before and the lows were by the athletes who had not. What that tells you is that the inexperience of having not competed in the championships can sometimes be exposed pretty quickly and hopefully our athletes will learn from these experiences. I know our women's relays were disappointed at not contributing but you hope that if they get the opportunity to come back next year that the experience from performing in the championships this year will carry over into next year."
 
All-American Euphemia Edem received her second All-American honor this meet after finishing in third-place in the triple jump.
 
The senior, who won a national championship in the long jump Thursday, entered the meet with the No. 1 triple jump in Division II at 13.22m (43-04.5).
 
Edem would start the event off in a less than desirable manner by scratching on her initial jump of the competition.
 
Edem returned to the runway for her second attempt and recorded a mark of 12.35m (40-06.25), leaving her in fourth in the first flight with one attempt left in the prelims. The final jump in prelims would see Edem improve her mark from the previous mark to 12.38m (40-07.50) but still remained in fourth place.
 
In the finals Edem again improved her mark to a 12.56m (41-02.50) but still held her position at fourth-place. Following a scratch on the next jump, Edem was down to her final jump of the competition and stepped up to the challenge jumping 13.00m (42-08) to move up to third-place, scoring an additional six points for the TexAnns bringing their meet total to 16 finishing the meet in 15^th-place.
 
Edem finished her career as a Tarleton TexAnn as a four-time All-American and school record holder in five events – long jump (Indoor and outdoor), triple jump (indoor and outdoor), 4x100m relay)
 
The next athlete on the track for Tarleton would be defending national champion Chase Rathke in his signature event, the 1500m.
 
Rathke entered the finals with the fourth-fastest time in the preliminaries recording a time of 3:51.83 Thursday.
 
Rathke ran the race as drawn up by head coach Pat Ponder, making a move with 800m to go setting himself up for a push at a national championship. Coming off the last curve with 100m to go Rathke was at the front of the pack sprinting towards the finish line in a battle with Oliver Aitchison of Adams State, Aitchison would win the sprint to the line finishing in 3:45.92 closely followed by Tarleton State's Chase Rathke who would claim second-place with a time of 3:46.82.
 
This would mark the first time that Rathke has lost a 1500m race during his collegiate career.
 
"Chase executed the race plan to a T", said Ponder. "There were just a few things that we were lacking that we didn't have to worry about last year. People don't understand how much goes into molding a national champion and when just one of those ingredients in the make-up of a national champion is missing you fall short of achieving the goal. I think Chase did as good of a job as he could've done. I'm proud of Chase, I think he realizes that even with one ingredient missing he still finished second in the nation. I fully expect to see Chase Rathke back at the national championships next year."
 
Kenny Odunaiya, the senior from Round Rock, took to the shot put rink in a field of 19 throwers.
 
 Odunaiya would finish 15^th in the nation with a best toss 16.66m (54-08), achieved on the first and last throw of the competition. Odunaiya finishes his Tarleton career as the school record holder in the school record holder in the indoor shot put, indoor weight throw, and the hammer throw.
 
"Kenny came in ranked 15th and finished 15^th", said Ponder. "Seeing it on paper and then seeing it in real life is breathtaking after not seeing it for the majority of the year. I don't think Kenny was intimidated by them, I feel like he respected them, but I was proud of him and he will always be able to say he experienced the national championships"
 
Another Texan that finished their career in the purple and white was dual-sport athlete Davene Carter.
Carter, a standout basketball player for the Texans over the past four years, would finish his track and field career as the 17^th best high jumper in the nation clearing a height of 2.00m (6-06.75).
 
Carter would miss his first attempt before clearing the second attempt. Carter would bow out of the competition with three-consecutive misses at 2.05m (6-08.75).
 
Carter finished his career as a two-time national qualifier in the high jump.
 
"Davene had a long season with the run the men's basketball team had through the Final Four", said Ponder. "I feel getting to this level you cant just show up and I feel like he did a great job competing for us. He's probably the only dual-sport athlete out there in the high jump but I feel like he competed to the best of his ability and I appreciate not only the ability he brought to the team but the leadership that he learned under coach Lonn Reisman and showed on the court. I was really proud of his ability to contribute to the team in that area."
 
The final team scheduled to represent Tarleton in the final would be the Texan 4x400m relay of Terrance Gross, Cameron Krc, Clarencio Guerrero, and Gilson Umunnakwe.
 
The Texan relay entered the finals as the fifth-fastest relay after posting a time of 3:10.95 in the prelims Friday night.
 
The foursome of Gross, Krc, Guerrero, and Umunnakwe ran themselves into the record books by winning a national championship in a school record time of 3:08.25 in a race that saw the Lone Star Conference finish 1-2-3 with Angelo State in second and Texas A&M-Commerce in third.
 
"That was just phenomenal", said Ponder.  "As it started to unveil itself it turned out to be the three school that I though it would be, (Tarleton State),  (Texas) A&M-Commerce and Angelo State, and really every man had to execute the perfect race and I feel they did. I feel like Coach Hobbs did an excellent job of making sure they were ready mentally and physically. When you start looking at the legs, Clarencio (Guerrero) had the fastest split, which is what Clarencio does, when you look back, 90% of the time Clarencio is going to have the fastest split but you can't just have one guy doing the work. You have to have four guys committed to the race plan and achieving the goal. We had two 46's and two 47's, that's not too bad. My hats off to Angelo State and (Texas) A&M-Commerce because it's a battle and its been a battle every week with them and we knew it was going to be like that and that's what made it so exciting. So I was just so excited for these young men because I know how much work they put into it and for them to get the honor to be called a national champion is something that they will have for the rest of their lives and no one can ever take that away from them. It just goes to show what can happen when you put four men together for the same common goal and putting self behind and putting the team on your shoulders and accepting the fact that all four of us have to be on the same page with each other. Then to see the excitement in their eyes and in their bodies and in their mannerisms, you know as a coach that's what you live for. Its to see the excitement in their faces, as a coach you come and go every year to the national championships and you never take for granted those opportunities that you get to see when young men and young women are celebrating the fruits of their labor when it all comes together in that one point in that one time. For us it was a national champion, and for one year we will be the nation champions in the 4x400m relays. It bodes well for The Lone Star Conference that we had a 1-2-3 finish in the 4x400m relay at the national championships. Again I applaud Angelo State and (Texas) A&M-Commerce it was an awesome race down to the finish."
 
 
"First of all it started off with the belief and all the work we put into the season", said freshman Terrance Gross.  "It wasn't about open events anymore we knew we had to do this as a team and shoot we did it, we came through as a team and finished it"
 
"It's all about believing in the workouts", said anchor leg Gilson Umunnakwe. "God has a plan for everything, patience, perseverance, (you) always have to be very humble especially when it comes to big meets like this, its as simple as that and a national championship came out of it."
 
"I'm really not one for words but we came here with a plan Friday night which was to make finals and we did that", added junior Clarencio Guerrero. "We woke up Saturday morning knowing that we would have to lay it all on the track to get first and that exactly what we did. We executed each of our legs and we competed and we performed well."
 
Junior Cameron Krc who is short on words simply had this to say, "the outcome speaks for its self."
Prior to the 4x400m relay running in the finals assistant coach Justin Hobbs gave the team a talk.
 
"Listen boys this is all she wrote," said Hobbs. We know we can get this championship. There is a need, and a want to, and we have got to find a way to get it done TODAY. If we take care of business, the results will be what we want them to be"
 
The Texans would finish 15^th overall as a team scoring 18 points, while the TexAnns finished 15^th overall as well scoring 16 points.
 
"It's been a great year for Tarleton track and field", said Ponder.  It's the largest group that we've taken to the national championships. Our women finished as the top team in the conference at the national championships. On the guys side we weren't even ranked and we established ourselves as a top-15 team. We're on the right track and we're doing things the right way. They're good representatives of the university on and off the track and I think that they are somebody that the administration can be proud of what we have."
 
This concludes the 2015 outdoor track and field season for Tarleton State.