7 National Qualifiers and 1 All-American for the Warriors at Indoor Nationals
BROOKINGS, S.D. – In a historic Indoor Track & Field season, Waldorf has sent a record number of athletes to the NAIA Indoor National Championship Meet. After hitting seven national qualifying marks, five Warriors competed in four individual events and one relay at the national meet on March 2-4 at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex.
The national meet weekend kicked off with the Teaming up for Character Event where athletes from all different teams in the NAIA had the opportunity to work together to coach elementary aged students through various track and field events at the Jackrabbit AC. "I think this was such a great event for our athletes to participate in. It was something the athletes were talking about all weekend," Assistant Coach Janna Langrell stated.
Jorge Olivo-Cabrera was recognized as our NAIA Indoor Championships, Champions of Character representative. "Jorge shows up every day with a great attitude, ready to work hard," Popenfoose said. "He is always excited about the success of his teammates and always cheering them on. He leads by example, takes responsibility for his actions and exhibits tremendous sportsmanship. He fits the description of a 'champion of character.'"
The first Warriors to toe the line this weekend were Khamarly Holmes (SR/Homestead, FL), Xzayvier Horton (FR/Atlanta, GA), Olivo-Cabrera (SR/Andover, MN), and Marcus Brown (SR/Homestead, FL). The quartet were seeded 21st upon entering the meet in the same heat as the top team in the NAIA. The Warriors raced smart and ran tough as they finished 5th in their heat and 13th in the nation with a new School Record time of 3:18.05.
As the only field event athlete representing the Warriors, Wade Baker (SR/Chewelah, WA) returned for his second time to the NAIA national meet to compete in the Weight Throw. Seeded 12th in the top flight, Baker threw 17.99m to move him onto the finals. At the conclusion of the finals, Baker finished 9th overall in the nation. "I am very proud of Wade for the progress he made during indoor this year. Last year when he competed in the weight at Nationals, he placed 25th overall and this weekend he finished 9th. I am excited for what he will bring for the outdoor season," Assistant Coach Trevor Gorwin said.
Brown continued his stellar season in one last showing in the 600 this weekend. Brown went out hard in the 600m semi-final race and finished second in his heat with a new personal best of 1:19.45, breaking his own school record and snagging the 3rd fastest time of the day. In the finals, Brown started out of lane four. The race went out fast with Brown getting caught in the thick of the race. Running hard for the third day in a row, Brown fought hard and finished 7th in the nation securing himself as an All-American. "What a great weekend we had. Marcus being an All-American in the 600 and wade 9th in the shot, the 4x4 moving up to 13th from 21st, our guys performed really well this weekend. I am so proud of our seniors who finally got here after working through so much adversity. This was a great step forward for our program," stated Head Coach Joel Popenfoose
Olivo-Cabrera and Holmes finished their indoor seasons at the national meet competing in the 60m Hurdles and 400m respectively. Both athletes ran against some of the best in the nation holding their own with Olivo-Cabrera finishing higher than he was seeded.