By Jacob Norling
May 25, 2022
 
(GULF SHORES, Ala.) Westmont Men's and Women's Track and Field began competition in the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships on Wednesday in Gulf Shores, Alabama. At day's end, a trio of races for the Warriors were postponed due to an ensuing lightning storm. Before the postponement, however, the Warriors got things off and rolling.
 
In the morning, sophomore Lily Sween was the catalyst for Westmont when she competed in the first leg of the women's heptathlon, the 100 meter hurdles. Sween, who has been rehabilitating an injury for the past few weeks, opened the day with a time of 15.58 in the 100 meter hurdles, which was just two-hundredths shy of her season-best mark.
 
In the next event, the high jump, Sween cleared a high of 1.64m (5-4.50), which was the third-best mark of the event. Then, in the shot put, Sween's best attempt went 10.30m (33-9.50), which was the sixth-best mark amongst competitors.
 
Sween's day came to a close in the 200 meter dash after she posted a time of 27.06, which was less than two-tenths off a season-best mark. Going into tomorrow, Sween is currently in tenth place with 2,806 points. In order to achieve All-American status Sween would need to finish in eighth or higher.
 
With the long jump, javelin, and 800 meter run scheduled for tomorrow, Sween is currently 21 points shy of eighth place.
 
"It was amazing how she kept her head about her in every event," said head coach Russell Smelley. "She did more than just compete, she ran pretty close to her best. I thought she was remarkable."
 
The next three Warriors to compete all experienced mixed results, with none of the three finishing near the top of the leaderboard. First, in the prelims of the women's 1500 meter run, freshman Abigail Hundley posted a time of 4:56.19. Hundley finished 19th in the event, and was unable to reach the finals.
 
In the women's pole vault, sophomore Abby Rumohr cleared 3.45m (11-3.75) on her second attempt to begin competition. Unfortunately for Rumohr and the Warriors, it was the only clearance for the sophomore who was unable to sneak past 3.55m (11-7.75). Rumohr finished the pole vault in 13th place.
 
On the men's side, redshirt sophomore Adam King was the first Warrior to see competition when he ran in the first heat of the 1500 meter run. King posted a time of 3:58.75 which placed him 16th out of 24 competitors.
 
In the second heat of the 1500, sophomore Zola Sokhela became the first Warrior to advance at Outdoor Nationals when he posted a time of 3:54.61. Sokhela, who is the reigning Outdoor National champion in the event, posted the fastest preliminary time of the race.
 
"I didn't want to lead the race," offered Sokhela, who never truly kicked it into gear despite winning the race. "The goal was to do just enough to get into the final, so I stayed tucked in, made a move, and kept it plain and simple."
 
Sokhela is scheduled to defend his national title in the 1500 on Friday, May 27, at 3:10 p.m. CDT.
 
With lightning on the horizon, the Warriors were still anticipating competition in the men's 4x800 relay, and both the men's and women's 10,000 meter races. Sween was originally set to lead things off for the Warriors on Thursday when the heptathlon is scheduled to resume at 10:30 a.m. CDT. However, it is likely that festivities on day two will begin early in the morning with a resumption of Wednesday night's postponed events.
 
When the official, updated schedule gets released, the new times will be posted on the Westmont Athletics website. All week long, links to live results and live video are available on the Westmont Athletics website.
 
UPDATE: On Wednesday night the NAIA announced the following updates regarding the schedule for the final two days of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. Listed are the updated date and times for events involving Westmont.
 

• The men's 4x800 relay prelims were originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday night. Due to the weather delay, the men's 4x800 relay semifinals will now take place on Thursday, May 26, at 11:20 a.m. CDT.

 

• The men's 4x800 relay finals were originally set to take place on Thursday. Given that the semifinals are now Thursday, the men's 4x800 relay finals will now take place on Friday, May 27, at 12:15 p.m. CDT.

 

• The women's 10,000 meter run was originally set to take place on Wednesday night. Due to the weather delay, the women's 10,000 meter run is set to take place on Thursday, May 26, at 9:30 p.m. CDT.

 

• The men's 10,000 meter run was originally set to take place on Wednesday night. Due to the weather delay, the men's 10,000 meter run is set to take place on Thursday, May 26, at 10:15 p.m. CDT.

 

• Originally, the women's 5,000 meter run semifinals were set to take place on Thursday. However, there are multiple athletes, such as Westmont's Anneline Breytenbach, that are scheduled to compete in both the 10,000 meter run and the 5,000 meter run. Whereas originally the athletes had the 10,000 meter run, 5,000 semis, and 5,000 finals all scheduled on different days, the 10,000 meter run is now scheduled to take place on the same day as the previously scheduled 5,000 semis.

 
Because of this change, there will no longer be a semifinal of the women's 5,000 meter run. All previously qualified athletes will automatically advance to the final of the 5,000 meter run. Westmont's Breytenbach as well as Kari Anema will compete in the women's 5,000 meter final on Friday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m. CDT.