Tag: Cerrone Thompson

Eleven men headed to NAIA Track and Field championships

The official final rosters for the 72nd Annual NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championships qualifiers have been announced. The event will be hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., May 22-24. Eleven from the OLLU men’s track and field team have qualified for the meet.

The Saints representatives include: sprinter Jalen Bell; hurdler Richard Davis; triple jumper De’Jon Lewis; 1500-meter runner Hendrick Ramirez; quarter-milers Cerrone Thompson and Julian Verastegui; and sprint relay members Paul Minjoth, Jesus Riefkohl Delgado, Jimmy Salas, Troy Stinson and Spencer Williams.

Men’s track sets four school records at Charles Austin Classic

The OLLU men’s track and field team set four records this past weekend at the Charles Austin Classic at Texas State University.

On Friday, Hendrick Ramirez set the record in the 1500m with a time of 3:52.79. On Saturday, William Smith ran a record-breaking time in the 110m hurdles at 14.81. Cerrone Thompson placed first with a record time in the 400m at 47.31. Richard Davis broke the record in the 400m hurdles with a mark of 53.23. In addition, Jesus Riefkohl Deglado earned National “B” Standard with his time in the 200m at 21.39.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “It was a fantastic weekend for Saints track and field. We had a ton of national qualifiers and some huge PRs. Texas Relays is next week and hopefully, we’ll prove that we’re national contenders.”

Indoor Track and Field teams make history at NAIA championships

Four members of the OLLU men’s Indoor Track and Field Team earned All-American recognition at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex this past weekend in South Dakota. 

In the three-day event at Dakota State University, Hendrick Ramirez qualified for the finals after finishing sixth in the One Mile preliminaries. Ramirez placed fifth overall and received NAIA All-American recognition.  His time of 4:09.97 is an OLLU Indoor Track and Field record. 

The Saints’ 4x400m Relay Team qualified for the finals after finishing fourth in the preliminaries. In the finals, the team placed seventh. Members include Julian Verastegui, Jalen Bell, Richard Davis and Cerrone Thompson, and all four received NAIA All-American recognition. Their time of 3:16.05 is an OLLU Indoor Track and Field record. 

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “Every year, we take a small step forward. Hendrick Ramirez with an individual All-American finish and our 4x400m relay team being All-American is by far the best we’ve ever done indoors. Hopefully a big step comes next. 

The women’s team also made it mark. The  women’s 4x400m Relay Team set an OLLU Indoor Track and Field Record of 4.02.11 in the preliminaries. The team consisted of Morghan Neely, Autumn Roberts, Aziza Clark and Alexandria Segura. 

Torres commented about the women, “Our team had some hard lessons to learn at this championship but this is the experience that will get them prepared for an amazing outdoor and next year’s indoor.” 

Men’s indoor track sets three school records at New Mexico meet

The OLLU men’s indoor track and field team set three school records at the University of New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Feb. 2-3.

Jalen Bell hit an NAIA “A” Standard in the 200m with a school record time of 21.58, and Cerrone Thompson had an NAIA “B” Standard in the 400m with an OLLU record time of 48.64. In addition, the 4x400m relay team has qualified for nationals with a school  record time of 3:14.73.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “This year feels like a breakout for us. Jalen Bell and Cerrone Thompson punching individual tickets to nationals felt like a long time coming. Our relay getting the A standard was the proof in the pudding that we as a team are arriving on the national scene.”

Men’s relay set two OLLU records at Aurora Grand Prix

The OLLU men’s 4x400m relay team broke a school record on Jan. 19 at the Aurora Grand Prix in Illinois and came in second place with a time of 3:19.43. The team consists of Richard Davis, Jalen Bell, Julian Verastegui and Cerrone Thompson. In addition, Thompson broke the 400m record with a time of 49.20 for first place.

The indoor event was sponsored by the Aurora University Spartans and featured teams from NCAA D1, D2 and NAIA universities.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “It was good to get the rust off from the break. We’re definitely ahead of where we were this time last year.”

Men’s indoor track opens season with records, NCAA qualifying marks

The OLLU men’s indoor track and field team opened its 2023-2024 season at the Crimson and Gold Invitational in Kansas, sponsored by Pittsburg State University. The event was held Dec. 9 at the Robert W. Plaster Center – Harvey Dean Track.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “We are so far ahead of where we were last year. Comparing our season opener this year is like night and day. We set several records, and DJ (De’Jon Lewis) hitting the triple standard was a huge accomplishment. Hendrick (Ramirez) hitting both standards by how much he did was another highlight of a pretty good day.

Two members of the team logged NAIA qualifying marks. De’Jon Lewis recorded an “A” standard of 14.45m for fourth place in the triple jump. Hendrick Ramirez turned in the ninth best time in the 3000m with an “A” standard time of 8:28.58. His time is an OLLU record.

New OLLU records were set. Aside from Ramirez, Cerrone Thompson broke the 800m record with a time of 1:57.21; Ramirez also broke the one-mile record with a sixth-best time of 4:12.73; Jalen Bell‘s time in the 200m is an OLLU best with a time of 21.84.

OLLU celebrates achievements of Track and Field teams

OLLU recognized the achievements of the men’s and women’s track and field teams from the 2022-2023 season during the virtual 11th Annual Big Blue Athletics Banquet.

The season was highlighted by the men’s 4x100m relay team finishing in fifth place at the NAIA National Championships and earning NAIA All-American honors. The four team members include Richard Davis, Troy Stinson, Cerrone Thompson and Julian Verastegui. Twelve members of the men’s team made it to the NAIA National Championships in Indiana. 

In addition, the women’s 4x100m relay team also qualified for nationals. They include Alondra Toledo, Kiana Kebbi, Autumn Roberts and Larrisa McHenry. Qualifying for the NAIA Indoor Championships earlier in the spring were Jose Zarate for the 5000m, Tr’Darius Taylor for the 60m and Ian Lee Heung for the Triple Jump.

The season also featured the men winning the Red River Athletic Conference championships and the women finishing in second. Jose Zarate was the men’s high point track athlete of the year.

OLLU men’s 4×400 relay earns All-America honors

The OLLU men’s 4x400m relay team made it to the finals of the 2023 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships and finished in fifth place overall. This marks the first time in program history that members of the OLLU track and field team have finished as finalists. All four members of the team – all freshmen, including Richard Davis, Julian Verastegui, Troy Stinson and Cerrone Thompson – have earned NAIA All-American honors – the first ever at OLLU.

They placed 11th out of 21 teams in the preliminary run with a time of 3:17.58, which qualified them for the finals on May 26. Their time in the finals was 3:12.55 for a fifth-place finish overall.

Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “We had some good things happen and some lessons learned. The jewel of the meet for us was definitely the men’s 4x400m finishing All-American with four freshmen. I’m so excited that these young men are at the foundation of what we are building.”

Twelve Saints qualify for men’s NAIA Track and Field Championships

Twelve members of the OLLU men’s track and field team will be on their way to compete in the 71st Annual Men’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championships in Marion, Ind. The event is hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University and will be held at the Wildcat Stadium from Wednesday through Friday.

The group of men, consisting of Jalen Bell, Richard Davis, De’Jon Lewis, Jesus Riefkohl Delgado, Jimmie Salas, Jonathan Sanchez, Troy Stinson, Tr’Darius Taylor, Cerrone Thompson, Julian Verastegui, Rodney Webber and Spencer Williams, is the largest contingent from OLLU to qualify for nationals. Head Coach Patrick Torres commented, “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, taking a significantly larger group to nationals this year. If things roll out our way, we can make some really good things happen on this trip because of the hard work the athletes and staff have put in this season.”

Saints men win RRAC Track and Field Championship

The men’s track and field team won the 2023 Red River Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships after recording 252 points. Xavier University of Louisiana came in second with 204 points.

OLLU had several RRAC individual champions, including the 4x100m relay team with Tr’Darius Taylor, Jesus Riefkohl Delgado, Rodney Webber and Jalen Bell; Cerrone Thompson in the 400m; Hector Puente in the 10000m; Jose Zarate in the 5000m and 1500m; Taylor in the 100m; and Bell in the 200m.

Zarate, and three others tied for the High Point Track Athlete of the championships.

OLLU placed fifth in its inaugural season in 2015, and the following year, the Saints came in third. In 2017, the Saints were runners-up, and in 2018, the team came in third. In 2019, OLLU finished second, while the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19. In 2021, the Saints came in second, and last year, the Saints finished in third place.