British Columbia Claims First-Ever Team National Championship
By Nikki Sherrill, Athletic Communications and Media Intern
GULF SHORES, Ala. – (Complete Results) Three days of competition are now in the books and a new national champion has been crowned in NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field. British Columbia gathered 71 total points to take home its first-ever team title to Canada. The Thunderbirds finished seven points ahead of runner-up Indiana Tech after competing over the past three days. For the fourth-straight season, the national championships have been held in Gulf Shores, Ala., at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium.
For the Thunderbirds, John Gay ran away with the men's steeplechase national title for the second-straight season. Gay hit a time of 9:12.14 in 2017 to maintain his title in the event. Other than in the steeplechase, the Thunderbirds captured the title in the men's 4x800m relay. The quad of Thunderbirds captured a time of 7:33.45 to claim British Columbia's first-ever title in the event.
At the awards ceremony with the Thunderbirds being handed the 2017 red banner, other awards were given out to deserving individuals from the meet. The 2017 Men's Coach of the Year went to Laruier Primeau from British Columbia. The meet's Men's Most Outstanding Performer saw Moriba Morain of Wiley (Texas) claim the title, while Jackson Thomas (Bacone) and Goabaone Mosheleketi (Lindsey Wilson) both were named Most Valuable Performers.
The longest race of the meet for the men, the marathon, started out the final day with an early competition as they battled heat and humidity in the 26.2 mile race. Christian Graham of British Columbia took the marathon with a time of 2:37:31.
The strongest performance of the day came during the men's 200m dash when Moriba Morain bettered the previous meet record by running a 20.32 in the event. Morain also became a back-to-back national champion in the men's 100m dash, this season running a 10.19.
One of the most powerful moments of the final day was when the men's triple jump event held a tribute for Tyler Carter, the student-athlete who passed away earlier this week. Carter was set to compete in the event and came in ranked No. 4. With his fellow teammate, officials and competitors honoring Tyler with a moment
The top-eight finishers in each event receive All-America honors. The NAIA will release a complete list of outdoor track and field All-Americans on Monday (May 29).
Top-five team finishes
Men
1. British Columbia – 71
2. Indiana Tech – 64
3. Wiley (Texas) – 57
4. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) – 47
5. Concordia (Neb.) – 46
Coach of the Year: Laurier Primeau, British Columbia
Outstanding Performer: Moriba Morain, Wiley (Texas)
Most Valuable Performers: Jackson Thomas, Bacone (Okla.); Goabaone Mosheleketi, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
2017 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Men's National Champions
Men's Long Jump – Thobias Nilsson Montler, Keiser (Fla.)
Men's Discuss – Derek Seddon, William Penn (Iowa)
Men's High Jump – Corion Knight, Florida Memorial
Men's Decathlon – Drew Gandy, Central Methodist (Mo.)
Men's 5,000m race walk – Anthony Peters, St. Ambrose (Iowa)
Men's 4x800m relay – British Columbia
Men's 10,000 meters – Jackson Thomas, Bacone (Okla.)
Men's hammer throw – Cody Boellstorff, Concordia (Neb.)
Men's javelin – Poncha Saldana, Eastern Oregon
Men's Marathon – Christian Graham, St. Mary (Kan.)
Men's Triple Jump – Goabaone Mosheleketi, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Men's Shot Put – Alex Wellington, Hastings (Neb.)
Men's Pole Vault – Lucas Wiechman, Concordia (Neb.)
Men's Steeplechase – John Gay, British Columbia
Men's 4x100m Relay – Indiana Tech
Men's 1,500m – Daniel Garcia, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
Men's 800m – Marbeq Edgar, Wiley (Texas)
Men's 100m – Moriba Morain, Wiley (Texas)
Men's 400m Hurdles – TJ Randle, Northwest (Wash.)
Men's 400m – Kimorie Shearman, Wiley (Texas)
Men's 200m – Moriba Morain, Wiley (Texas)
Men's 5,000m – Jackson Thomas, Bacone (Okla.)
Men's 4x400m relay – SUNO (La.)
Men's 110m Hurdles – Christopher Graham, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)