ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita men's and women's track & field teams racked up a total of 21 event wins in the Tigers' first home track meet since 1994 to open the brand new Hickingbotham Family Track & Field on Thursday.
 
With this being the first meet held at the new Hickingbotham Family Track & Field, all wins today set facility records.
 
Women
 
The women faced off against six other schools, including fellow GAC members in Arkansas Tech, Harding, and Southern Arkansas, and other Arkansas programs in Lyon, Williams Baptist, and UA-Rich Mountain. No team scores were kept, but Ouachita racked up the wins and top finishes at their new home facility.
 
Winners:
 
Anna Woolsey took first place in two events, winning the 400m by almost a full second with a time of 56.97 and claiming the win in the 200m with a time of 24.31.
 
Mackenzie Davis won the 10,000m by almost 40 seconds with a program record time of 36:38.24, breaking the previous record set in 2023 by 27 seconds.
 
Lucy Holden won the 5000m by three seconds with a time of 17:53.11.
 
Belle Lindsey won the 100m Hurdles with by 0.50 seconds with a time of 14.65.
 
Elise Knight made a late move to win the 1500m with a time of 4:45.55.
 
Jaci McGregor won the 800m by just under a second with a time of 2:18.71.
 
Katelynn Nachtigal hit an NCAA Provisional and program record time of 10:48.83 on the way to winning the 3000m Steeplechase by a margin of more than a minute.
 
Charley Stallings won the Pole Vault with a program record height of 3.15m (10' 4.0").
 
Laynie White won took first in the 400m Hurdles by more than a second with a time of 1:07.06.
 
The 4x100m Relay squad of Gray, Woolsey, Lindsey, and Rojas won the event by just over a second and set a program record with a time of 48.12.
 
The 4x400m Relay squad of Woolsey, White, Rojas, and Babel took first place by nine seconds with a program record time of 3:55.14.
 
Top Finishers:
 
The Tigers swept the top four of the 10,000m, after Davis in first, Allison Hylkema took second (37:17.47), followed by Emelia Eriksson in third (39:41.66), and Meg Swindle in fourth (40:00.27).
 
Ouachita took five of the top six spots in the 100m Hurdles. Lindsey placed first, followed by Gray in second (15.15), Addison Skelton in third (15.34), Laynie White in fifth (15.61), and Bella Maxson in sixth (15.69)
 
The Tigers also placed five in the top six of the 800m. After McGregor in first, Addi Durand took second (2:19.65), followed by Knight in third (2:20.19), Payton Macejewski in fifth (2:26.11), and Ellie Hoemann in sixth (2:27.19).
 
Ouachita too four of the top five spots in the 5000m with Holden in first, followed by Hylkema in third (17:58.32), Macie Cash in fourth (17:58.75), and Marin Murray in fifth (17:59.24).
 
Izzi Breaux took second in the 1500m with a time of 4:46.75, less than a second out of first place.
 
Rachel Dunn took second in the triple jump with a distance of 10.81m (35' 5.50"), missing first place by just 0.8m. Dunn also placed third in the long jump (5.16m) and fifth in the high jump (1.42m).
 
Adrienna Gray finished second in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 1:08.17, just over a second out of first place.
 
Emily Payne placed second in the Javelin Throw with a distance of 31.55m (103' 6.0").
 
Angie Rojas took second in the 100m Dash with a time of 12.39, 0.03 seconds out of first place. Rojas also placed fourth in the Long Jump with a distance of 5.15m (16' 10.75").
 
Joey Babel finished third in the 400m with a time of 57.97, just one second out of first place.
 
Reagan Carrouth took third in the Pole Vault with a height of 2.75m, followed by Kyla Jeffcoat in fourth (2.60m) and Katherine Barrera in fifth (2.45m).
 
Brenlee Leonard finished fourth in the Shot Put with a distance of 12.12m (39' 9.25").
 
The 4x100m Relay squad of Maxson, Babel, Dunn, and Skelton placed second with a time of 49.54.
 
Ouachita swept the top three spots in the 4x400m. After the first-place team, the squad of Breaux, Durand, McGregor, and Hoemann took second (4:04.25), and the squad of Rylee Walker, Zoe Carter, Gray, and Macejewski placed third (4:20.21).
 
The women totaled 12 wins and 30 top three finishes at the Ouachita Invitational, the first program's first home meet.
 
During the meet, Ouachita honored the nine women seniors set to graduate this coming May, they were: Hannah Bailey, Izzi Breaux, Adrienne Brown, Macie Cash, Mackenzie Davis, Jaci McGregor, Emily Payne, Reyna Rogers, and Laynie White.
 
 
Men
 
The men faced off against seven programs, two being fellow GAC members Harding and Southern Arkansas, and the rest also being Arkansas-based programs in Lyon, Williams Baptist, UA-Rich Mountain, National Park College, and Champion Christian. No team scores were kept, but the men fared well, piling up wins and top three finishes to break in the new facility.
 
Winners:
 
Caden Callahan won the 110m Hurdles by 0.74 seconds with a time of 14.72. Callahan also placed third in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 55.20.
 
Dylan Dew took first in the 800m by just over two seconds with a time of 1:53.90.
 
Gabriel Greenwich won and set a program record in the 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 9:31.35, breaking the previous record by just over one second.
 
Aden Hecht took the top spot in the 400m Hurdles by almost two seconds with a time of 53.33.
 
Russell Hensley won the Javelin Throw by one meter with a distance of 47.29m (155' 2.0").
 
Ethan Kailey claimed first place in the 1500m after a last-lap rally with a time of 4:06.37, winning by almost two seconds.
 
Lawson Sanders won the 5000m with a seven-second margin after posting a time of 15:09.00.
 
Dhakivion Seals took first in the 400m with a time of 49.92, taking the top spot by just 0.04 seconds.
 
The 4x100m Relay squad of Callahan, Brink, Hecht, and Miller Goff won the event by almost four seconds with a time of 42.86.
 
Top Finishers:
 
The Tigers swept the top four spots in the 800m. Dew placed first, followed by Xander Naegle in second (1:56.07), Keagan Pointer in third (1:56.50), and Jones White in fourth (1:56.70).
 
Ouachita took the top three sports in the 3000m Steeplechase. After Greenwich in first, Jaelen Becho took second (9:32.74), and Josh Tibbs placed third (9:51.74).
 
The Tigers also swept the top three in the 400m with Seals in first, Baden Brink in second (49.96), and Marcus McGahee in third with a time of 51.36.
 
Ouachita took three of the top four spots in the 110m Hurdles. Callahan took first, followed by Hecht in second (15.46), and Chapman in fourth (16.31).
 
Isaac Chapman finished third in the Pole Vault with a height of 4.15m (13' 7.5"). MJ Ryman was fifth in the Pole Vault with a height of 4.15m.
 
Miller Goff finished fourth in the 100m Dash with a time of 10.94, less than half a second out of first place.
 
Zach Lane took third in the Triple Jump with a distance of 12.49m (41' 11.75m). Lane also placed fifth in the Long Jump with a distance of 6.16m (20' 2.50").
 
Nathan Miller placed fourth in the 1500m with a time of 4:10.35, followed by Evan Armitage in fifth (4:12.75).
 
Tate Stacks finished fourth in the 5000m with a time of 15:20.74, followed by Whit Lawrence in fifth (15:24.23), and Gabe Metoyer in sixth (15:24.26).
 
The Tigers had two 4x400m Relay squads finish in the top three of the event. The squad of Seals, White, Keagan Pointer, and Brink placed second (3:21.65), less than two seconds out of first, and the squad of Dew, Naegle, McGahee, and Caleb Houge finished third (3:28.09).
 
The men tallied nine event wins and 19 top three finishes in their first home meet in 31 years.
 
During today's meet, Ouachita honored 19 seniors that are set to graduate this coming May. There were 10 men honored in Jaelen Becho, Chip Fournier, Ethan Kailey, Zach Lane, Whit Lawrence, Luke Lawson, Keagan Pointer, Lawson Sanders, Cade Swindle, and Josh Tibbs.
 
The Tigers opened the Hickingbotham Family Track & Field with a bang, totaling 21 wins out of 38 events and racking up 49 top three finishes between the men and women.
 
The Tigers will be back in action next week when they head to the Lone Star State to compete in the Texas Relays on March 28-29 at the University of Texas in Austin.