By Jacob Norling
May 25, 2023
 
(MARION, Ind.) Westmont Men's and Women's Track and Field returned to action in the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships on Thursday, when the second day of competition took place. The main event on Thursday was the men's 4x800 relay, which saw the Warriors add four NAIA All-Americans to their tally.
 
With Andres Leon, one of Westmont's four runners from the preliminaries, unable to compete, Ben Bodine led things off for the Warriors. Following Bodine, Adam King, Jack Vanden Heuvel, and Zola Sokhela combined to finish the event in third place with a time of 7:34.75.
 
In the final 4x800 relay in program history, the men posted the sixth-best time in Westmont history.
 
"During the last 400 it started to hit me," said Adam King, who ran the final race of his Westmont career on Thursday. "I was telling myself, 'this is your last 300 in the NAIA, this is your last 200 as a Warrior.' That was my mindset going into it, and I don't really know why.
 
"Usually, I'm not sentimental like that, but, this is it, my last race at Westmont."
 
When asked what he would remember most, King shared, "The friendships with the guys. This team, girls and guys, we build connections. I imagine it's hard to find a team like this anywhere else, and the people and the friendships are what's going to stick with me."
 
The relay was not the first time on Thursday that both Sokhela and Vanden Heuvel competed, as both men took part in the 800 meter run preliminaries. Sokhela, who has won the 800 in back-to-back years, gave himself the opportunity for a three-peat on Friday, after posting the fastest time of the event at 1:51.04.
 
Vanden Heuvel was unable to advance to Friday's finals after finishing 13th in prelims with a time of 1:54.57.
 
Also competing on Thursday was senior Lily Sween, who capped her collegiate career in the women's heptathlon. Sween's best event on Thursday was the Long Jump, where her mark of 5.15m (16-10.75) was the eighth-best amongst competitors. To finish the day, Sween left the javelin with a mark of 28.55m (93-8), and the 800 meter run with a time of 2:35.93.
 
At the end of the heptathlon, Sween finished in 14th place with 4,313 points.
 
"There's mixed emotions," explained Sween, now a graduate of Westmont College. "I'm happy it's over, because my body is done. You wish you could do it forever, but that's not how it works. Still, I put as much into it as I possibly could with the circumstances I've had this year."
 
When asked what she would remember most about her time as a Warrior, Sween said, "The coaches. Coach Smelley, Priester, and now Derek, they've all given me everything I could ever ask for. They're so forgiving. With a lot of the injuries I've had, some coaches could have just given up on me.
 
"With them, whenever I was able to be on the track, they were able to put their 100% effort into me. I wouldn't be who or where I am today without the coaches that I've had."
 
Narindra Rafidimalala took part in his first NAIA National event in the afternoon, when he competed in the men's long jump. While the top nine finishers earned three more jumps following the conclusion of the first two flights, Rafidimalala was unable to reach this threshold.
 
With a highest-mark of 6.92m (22-8), Rafidimalala finished his first national competition in 19th place.
 
In the early evening, Simeon Michaelson competed in the men's 5000 meter race walk, an event that Michelson qualified for less than three weeks ago. Unfortunately, the junior was disqualified on his penultimate lap.
 
The final event of the evening, and the final event for the women this season, was the 4x400 meter relay under the lights. McKenna Phillips, Charlotte Williams, Jaiden Rodrigues, and Siena Keck posted a time of 4:00.57, which was the 23rd-highest mark of prelims. The quartet was unable to qualify for Friday's finals.
 
On Friday the Warriors will compete in their final day of NAIA Track and Field in program history. Leading things off is Ryan Hooten, who is making his first appearance in an NAIA National meet. Hooten will take part in the men's pole vault at 1:00 p.m.
 
In fitting fashion, Sokhela will run Westmont's final two races of the year. At 2:10 p.m., Sokhela will compete alongside fellow South African Jason Bowers in the 1500 meter run. At Indoors in March, the two friends from back home took first and second in the race.
 
With the final race in Westmont's NAIA history, Sokhela will look to defend his two-time National Championship in the men's 800 meter run at 4:00 p.m.