They say there's strength in numbers, and Sunday, the Lincoln women's track team proved that is decidedly so.
Seemingly running wave after wave of athletes at the competition, the Blue Tigers racked up multiple points in several events and rolled to their fourth straight conference championship.
Wondering about those numbers? Consider these facts from Sunday's action in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Outdoor Championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
• Lincoln started the day by finishing third and fourth in the triple jump with Jonelle Campbell and Daniele Newman.
• Then it was another double dip, as Monique Thompson was second in the 1,500-meter run and Jhevere Hall was fourth.
• Things started to gain momentum when Lincoln went first, second and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles with Ladonna Richards, Juneille Barker and Nadia Harriott.
• They really hit their stride in the 400-meter dash, as the Blue Tigers went 1-2-6-7 with the group of Donna-Lee Hylton, Tamara Keane, Willomena Williams and Lovan Palmer.
• It got even more ridiculous in the 100-meter dash, where the Blue Tigers took spots 1, 2, 5 and 6 thanks to, in order, Yanique Ellington, Janae Johnson, Judith Riley and Kimberly Bailey.
While the Blue Tigers were racing past people on the track, they were doing the same in the team standings.
"I think the kids fed off the energy (of the home crowd)," Lincoln coach Victor Thomas said. "It was a good thing for them. Ain't nobody coming into their house and beating them."
Thompson and Hall then placed in the same event for the second time on the day when they finished first and fourth, respectively, in the 800-meter run. And for good measure, Thompson's time of 2:08.24 broke the MIAA meet record of 2:09.66 set by Lincoln's Lovan Palmer just last year.
"I feel really great. I didn't expect it because I did it right after the 1,500," Thompson said. "But I went out there looking to do my best, as usual. I just put it in my mind to go out there and do my best, that's the only thing you can do."
After the record-setting run, Lincoln continued its onslaught by taking first (Barker), third (Richards) and fourth (Keane) in the 400 hurdles.
And in one final event where Lincoln made up half of the eight runners, the Blue Tigers took places 1, 2, 5 and 7 in the 200-meter dash thanks to Ellington, Johnson, Bailey and Riley.
"The girls stood up and did well," Thomas said.
Even in the events where Lincoln could only score one time, they still used a team effort, winning the 4x100- and 4x-400-meter relays. The 4x100 was made up of Richards, Ellington, Bailey and Johnson, while the 4x400 consisted of Keane, Hylton, Williams and Marcia Harrison.
The Blue Tigers romped to the title, racking up 182 points. Central Missouri was a distant second with 104.5, while Pittsburg State took third out of the 11 teams with 93.
Thompson said the team got a boost from it being Lincoln's first home track meet in 15 years.
"It felt really good seeing everybody here," she said. "I didn't want to disappoint myself or anybody else.
"I'm very pleased (to win another title). The girls work really hard. We come out here to win, and we did."
With six seniors on the roster, Thomas said there's work to be done if the Blue Tigers are going to make it five in a row.
"I only hope that we can get the support so I can recruit and bring in some more kids for next year because I have this feeling this is the end of a dynasty," he said. "(The) indoor (season) we will be OK, but outdoor we're going to have trouble. We have to bring in some more kids. ... We need to bring in at least two more jumpers, two quarter-milers and we'll be OK."
III
Five former area competitors took part in the action Sunday, with two of them earning points.
Central Missouri's Erin Alewine (Jefferson City High School) was fourth in the high jump (5-71/4) and part of the Jennies' sixth-place team in the 4x400-meter relay (3:49.92), while Jessica Fennewald (Blair Oaks High School) was part of the Central Missouri 4x100-meter relay team that finished fifth (47.77).
Also at the meet, Central Missouri's Amy Dorge (Blair Oaks High School) finished 12th in the hammer throw (140-11) and 13th in the shot put (38-8¾), Southwest Baptist's Briana Watson (Jefferson City High School) finished 12th in the 5,000-meter run (19:30.91) and Missouri Southern's Adelene Mengwasser (Chamois High School) was 13th in the 1,500-meter run (4:54.32).
III
Two additional MIAA records fell Sunday in the women's portion of the meet.
Antqunita Reed of Pittsburg State set a mark while winning the triple jump with a leap of 41-2 ¼ feet, or 12.55 meters. That broke the record of 12.52 meters set in 2011 by Darcie Schmitz of Fort Hays State.
And in the women's hammer throw, Central Missouri's Heavin Warner posted a mark of 199-7, or 60.84 meters, to break the record of 58.14 meters set by Northwest Missouri's Kate Walter in 2012.