Turner Wins Two Titles at NAIA Nationals
Men's Track and Field posted a seventh place finish at the NAIA Championships this week in Marion, Indiana. The Tigers finished with 26 points. British Columbia was the team champion with 74 points.
Zach Turner capped his Doane career with a memorable final day of action on Friday. Action began on Wednesday and he qualified for the 400m hurdles finals by posting the fastest time in the prelims of 51.28. On Thursday, he posted the fastest time in the prelims of the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.76.
Friday's action for Turner began with the 110m hurdles. Turner had a grasp on the lead by the third hurdle and finished with an NAIA Championship record time of 13.72 to claim his first outdoor national title. He is Doane's first national champion in the 110m hurdles since Virgil Mitchell in 2011 while earning his third All-American honor in the event.
The 400m hurdles took place 50 minutes after the 110m hurdles. Turner was unfazed, leading from the first hurdle as he picked up his second national title of the day with a time of 51.08. He is the first to win a national title for Doane in the event while picking up his third All-American honor in the 400m hurdles.
Turner becomes the first since 1999 to win the indoor national title for hurdles and both hurdles races during the outdoor season. He is the first hurdler to sweep the three events with the races set at 60-meters for indoors and 110m/400m for outdoors.
The NAIA post-meet honors also found their way into Turner's hands. He received the Men's Performance of the Meet award for his record time in the 110m hurdles. Turner was also named the Men's Most Valuable Performer by scoring the most team points in the meet, accounting for 21 points (10 per victory, 1 from anchoring the 4x400m relay). He is the first Doane track and field athlete to earn the Most Valuable Performer award.
Doane's final points from the meet came from the 4x400m relay team of Andrew Brown, Joaquin Gutierrez, JaDae Moore, and Turner. They turned in a time of 3:13.85 to place fifth overall for All-American honors.
The first NAIA All-American performance of the meet for the Tigers came in the hammer throw on Wednesday. Andrew Schmitz placed seventh with a throw of 59.34m (194-08). He is the seventh thrower in program history to earn All-American honors in the event.
Other competitors for Doane at the NAIA Championships:
Cale Bessler - discus (17th, 46.61m/152-11.00)
Andrew Brown - 110m hurdles (18th, 16.18), 400m hurdles (20th, 54.69)
Christopher Brown - discus (12th, 47.92m/157-03.00)
Trey Dickey - discus (11th, 48.10m/157-10.00), hammer throw (19th, 53.31m/174-11.00)
Andrew Englund - discus (18th, 46.29m/151-10.00)
Cooper Girmus - high jump (NH)
Joaquin Gutierrez - 400m (17th, 48.82)
Andrew Harms - decathlon (11th, 6,170 pts)
Peyton Herrick - high jump (NH)
Jackson Kessler - high jump (NH)
Dylan Starr - high jump (NH)
4x800m relay (Emmanuel Yego, Nate O'Brien, Luke Bonifas, Michael Grigsby) - 25th, 7:57.84