The Ouachita track and field teams delivered a strong weekend of competition at the Joe Walker Invitational and Bryan Phillips Invitational, highlighted by five event victories across two meets at Ole Miss and Harding.
Ouachita was led by a trio of individual champions, including sophomore standout Addi Durand, who captured the women's 800-meter title and set a new school record with a time of 2:12.40. Junior Belle Lindsey added a pair of top-three finishes. She placed third in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.56 and followed with a school record-setting runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles, hitting an NCAA provisional mark with a time of 1:01.73.
On the men's side, sophomore Aden Hecht broke a 37-year-old school record for Ouachita, taking first place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.16 to pace the field and reach an NCAA Provisional mark.Sophomore Rocco Patrick led the Tigers in the field events and recorded a sixth-place finish in the discus with a throw of 48.97 meters to finish just outside the top five. Patrick also broke a school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 55.78 meters (182 feet, 11-inches) and finished in seventh.
Ouachita also turned in a dominant showing in the relay races as both the men's and women's teams reached an NCAA Provisional mark. The men's relay team featuring freshmen Mitchell Gage and Nathan Bradford, along with juniors Gavin Rainey and Jameson Flatt broke a 45-year-old school record and finished first with a time of 3:11.08. The women's 4x400-meter relay team of junior Joey Babel, freshman Zyron Brock, sophomore Addi Durand, and junior Anna Woolsey raced to a first-place finish and posted a program-record setting time of 3:43.69.
Another crew represented Ouachita at the Bryan Phillips Invitational, hosted by Harding. Sophomore Ariana Neal broke a school record and took fourth in the women's javelin event with a throw of 36.57 meters (120 feet) on her final throw. She added a fifth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 12.10 meters (39 feet, 8-inches). Sophomore Angelyn Rojas also took fifth in the long jump with a distance of 4.96 meters (16 feet, 3-inches)
Three freshmen on the women's team thrived on the track as Landry Lay won the 5000 meters run with a time of 18:30.42. Taegan Herrien took fifth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.38, while Arriona Black followed in sixth at 1:09.15. On the men's side, junior Logan Gates took third in the Steeplechase with a time of 10:04.87, while senior Christian Kratz followed behind in fourth at 10:13.02.
Overall, the Tigers compiled 11 top-five finishes across both track and field meets, continuing to build momentum against NCAA Division I and II competition as the outdoor season enters the final month. Ouachita concludes the regular season next weekend at the Don Veach Invitational, hosted by Southern Arkansas in Magnolia.
