Final Results
BRADENTON, Florida – Tarleton combined for 11 All-American honors on the final day of the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
"I'm proud of this team and all the athletes that competed," said head coach
Pat Ponder. "I've said it before, but there's a lot of athletes that never make the championships and for us to have several All-Americans, that's not too bad. They did a super job of representing our program and Tarleton State University. Everyone can be proud of how they did."
DeAijha Hicks-Boyce led the way for Tarleton with four All-American honors on the day. Hicks-Boyce had a pair of eighth-place finishes in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. The sophomore ran the 100 in 12.11 and the 200 in 24.01.
Both TexAnn relay teams earned All-American status starting with the 4x100-meter relay of
Deylinn Garrett,
Ariel Ballard, Hicks-Boyce, and
Alexondria Brooks who finished sixth in a time of 46.44. The 4x400 (
Ashley Johnson, Hicks-Boyce, Ballard,
Jasmine Owens) also finished sixth in a time of 3:42.55. The 4x400 placed 10
th in the preliminaries on Friday, but earned a spot in the finals after a team was disqualified and the meet referee awarded Tarleton the final spot, according to Ponder.
In the final race of his Tarleton career,
Chase Rathke earned All-American status in the 1500-meter by coming in fourth in a time of 3:49.76. Rathke won a national championship in the 1500 in 2014.
Dylan Willett finished 12
th in the 1500 (4:05.42) to earn second-team All-American honors.
Danyelle Dillard was the only TexAnn to compete in the field events and got 21
st in the shot put with a throw of 44' 9" (13.64m).
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