The Spring Arbor men's and women's track and field program wrapped up their season at NAIA nationals hosted in Brookings, South Dakota over the weekend with numerous NAIA All-American Statuses earned.
 
In total, Coach Kam Mills sent 11 of his athletes to nationals, and they exceeded his expectations.
 
Said Mills, "This year was a special year where almost everything went as we hoped. In the six events we qualified for [at nationals], we had 3 All-American performances, two being top five finishes, and a school record."
 
Highlighting the Cougar athletes was sophomore Dean Reynolds and senior Tommee Smith, who both took home all-American Honors in their respective events.
 
Reynolds began his meet by placing second in prelims and breaking the school record, blazing to a 4:08.82 in the mile. He then followed that up with a fifth place finish in the finals, running a 4:09.06 to earn All-American status.
 
Smith raced to a first place finish in the 800m prelims, as he cruised to a 1:53.27 finish. In the finals, he placed third with an improved time of 1:52.84. He also earned All-American status from his efforts.
 
In total, the Cougars placed 23rd in the country, the fourth highest finish in the Crossroads league. Coach Mills believes this gives the Cougars tremendous momentum heading into the outdoor season.
 
"We are feeling very blessed, and hungry to reach for bigger things in outdoor season." Mills said.
 
NAIA NATIONALS HIGHLIGHTS
 
Team Score - Tied for 23rd, 4th out of our Conference teams.
 
Men's 5k - Nate Stout
- 8th out of 17 in his prelim 15:11.74
- Did not qualify for the finals, but places him at 17th out of 35 runners
 
Men's Weight Throw - Josiah Fitch
- First time National participate - 34th out of 37.
- First SAU Thrower at NAIA Nationals in school history.
 
Mile - Dean Reynolds
- 2nd in prelims, Set the school record by 2 sec. (4:08.82) previous record 4:11.82
- 5th in Finals - 4:09.06 ALL-AMERICAN
 
800m - Tommee Smith
- 1st in prelims heat in 1:53.27
- 3rd in Finals in 1:52.84 ALL-AMERICAN
 
4x800m relay -
Tommee Smith, Jacob Singleton, Gary Richardson, Dean Reynolds
- 2nd in prelims heat in 7:41.55
- 7th in Finals in 7:47.35- ALL-AMERICAN
 
400m Distance Medley-
- Zach Morse, Ryan Bowman, Isaiah Romeyn, Chase Hobson (Luke Laprad was an alternate)
- Besides Zach Morse, they were all first time indoor National participants- 23rd out of 26
 
The Cougars also competed in the Crossroads League Final Meet several weeks ago, and had a solid showing among both the men's and women's teams. The meet highlights are as follows:
 
CROSSROADS LEAGUE MEET HIGHLIGHTS
 
Men:
 
Team Place- 8^th place (last year 10^th)
 
Top 8 scoring places - (top 3 All-League)
 
DMR (Tommee Smith, Jacob Singleton, Gary Richardson, Dean Reynolds)
2nd All-league- National A Standard
Nate Stout - 5k- National A Standard 5th place, 3k 4th place
Dean Reynolds - Mile 4th place
Gary Richardson - Mile 6th place
Jared Wallace - 60m Hurdles 8th place
Josiah Fitch - Weight Throw 7th,
4x800m relay (Chase Hobson, Luke Laprad, Ryan Bowman, Zach Morse)
Aiden Delatorre - Men's Heptathlon 5th place
 
Women:
 
Team Place- 9^th (last year 10^th)
 
Top 8 scoring places-(top 3 All-League)
 
Kylie Brown - 400m 3rd place All-league, 200m 6th place
Angela Jaycox - 800m 6th
Allison Teed - Pentathlon 2nd place All-league, Pole vault 4th place
Sarah De La Grange - Pole vault 7th place
Lydia Hall- Shot Put 7th place
4x400m - (Angela Jaycox, Ava Houghton, Jamie Sanders, Kylie Brown) 6th place