Tag: Richard Davis

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 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.”

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.”