ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Lincoln women's indoor track and field team entered Saturday's meet as the No. 1 team in the country.
The Blue Tigers lived up to that ranking.
Lincoln claimed eight first-place finishes and posted 28 top-10 results to win the Grand Valley State Five-Way, edging the host school by nine points.
The Blue Tigers finished with 141 points, while Grand Valley State, the No. 2 team in the country according to the United States Track and Feld and Cross Country Coaches Division II poll, finished with 132 points. Hillsdale (82), Lewis (59), and St. Joseph's (33) rounded out the field.
Yannique Ellington won the 60- and 200-meter dashes to lead the Blue Tigers, who swept the top two spots in six events.
Lincoln's best results came in the 200 as Ellington (24.80), Janae Johnson (24.89), and Kimberly Bailey (24.98) all finished in the top three, while Donna-Lee Hylton (55.91) and Tamara Keane (56.58) finished first and second, respectively, in the 400-meter dash.
Lincoln's 400-meter relay team of Lovan Palmer, Hylton, Willomena Williams, and Keane also highlighted the meet by posting the fastest time this season in NCAA Division II at 3:46.
Ladonna Richards won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.50 seconds, the fifth-best time in Division II, while Shakesia Miller took second at 8.67. Miller also placed second in the long jump with a leap of 5.64 meters.
Monique Thompson brought home the top honors in the 800 at 2:12.10, also the fifth-best time in Division II, while Williams finished third at 2:15.52.
Jonelle Campbell won the triple jump (11.50 meters), while Daniele Newman took second (11.35), and Nickeisha Beaumont rounded out the top finishes for the Blue Tigers by winning the long jump with a leap of 5.66 meters.
During the men's portion of the meet, Lincoln's Romel Lewis had quite a day.
Lewis won two events and set the nation's top time in the 60 meters to help lead the Lincoln men's indoor track and field team to a second-place finish at the Five-Way.
The Blue Tigers, who won four events, finished with 85 points, while Grand Valley State won the meet with 161. Hillsdale (82), Lewis (59) and St. Joseph's (38) rounded out the list of competitors.
Lewis won the 60 in 6.66 seconds, the best time in NCAA Division II and one of just two automatic qualifying times posted so far this season for the national championships.
The other win for Lewis came in the 200, where the senior finished with a provisional qualifying time of 21.47. That mark currently stands as the sixth-best time in Division II and ranks first among Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association teams.
Three other Blue Tigers placed in the top-10 in the 200, including Michael Ashley, who finished second in 21.95. Hill finished third (22.06) while Khorey Spalding placed 10th (22.63).
Ashley, who also took second in the 400, joined forces with Roger Blake, Jermaine Blake and Winston Edwards to win the 400-meter relay in 3:17.94.
In the open 400, Ashley clocked in at 48.09 seconds, a provisional mark that stands as the eighth-best time in the country. Roger Blake took third in the 400 (48.94), while Edwards came in sixth (49.81).
Stallone Watson won the long jump with a distance of 6.92 meters, and he rounded out the top performances for Lincoln with a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.48).
Lincoln will continue it season this weekend at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. The two-day meet will be hosted by the University of Nebraska on Friday and Saturday.