Shipley Crowned National Champion at NAIA Outdoor Nationals
ASHEVILLE, NC. — The Mount Vernon Nazarene University track and field team competed in the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships at the University of North Carolina Asheville on May 20-22.
The action for the Cougars began on Wednesday with Makenna Langford in the women's 400m hurdles prelims. Langford placed 18th overall and set a new school record with a time of 1:01.76.
Isaac Burns also competed on Wednesday in the men's high jump. The freshman turned in an amazing performance, placing second and finishing as the National Runner-Up with a jump of 2.15m. Burns also finished as an NAIA All-American for the first time in his career.
The women's 4x800m relay team of Allison Bonito, Jenna Brumbaugh, Louisa Hallabrin, and Ashley Yoder competed on Wednesday in prelims and finished 22nd overall with a school record time of 9:18.07.
The men's 4x800m relay team advanced to finals after placing sixth overall on Wednesday with a time of 7:29.17. The team of Trent Koning, Simon Rohwer, Evan Hodkinson, and Daron Porter ran a great race in the finals, finishing as the National Runner-Ups and earning All-American status with a school record time of 7:28.79.
Hodkinson also competed in the 800m prelims on Thursday and placed 24th overall with a time of 1:54.09.
Mason Hendrickson ran in the men's 3000m Steeplechase on Thursday as well. The senior placed 27th with a time of 9:48.19.
The biggest moment came on Friday when Tyler Shipley was crowned as the men's pole vault champion with a mark of 5.00m. Shipley becomes MVNU's second NAIA National Champion in school history. Mitchell Soviak, who threw for MVNU track & field from 2015-2019, became the first National Champion in school history by winning the men's shotput during outdoor nationals in 2019.
The men's team also had a historic finish as it placed ninth overall in the nation with 26 points. The finish for the men is the highest in program history at a NAIA Nationals event.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,200 students from 36 states, 1 U.S. commonwealth and 41 foreign countries.