Lincoln women place second at outdoor track championships

Meanwhile, Lincoln men earn All-American honors in five events

ALLENDALE, Mich. - The Lincoln women's track and field team won three events and posted seven All-American performances to finish second at the 2015 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships.

Six different Blue Tigers earned All-American honors at the national championships, hosted by Grand Valley State University from Thursday through Saturday.

Saturday began with the Lincoln 4x100-meter relay team of Keja Christie, Kimberly Bailey, Yanique Ellington and Janae Johnson winning in 44.62 seconds, marking the second straight season Lincoln has won the national title in that event. Lincoln also had a pair of individual national champions, with Johnson later winning the 100-meter dash in 11.38 seconds and Ladonna Richards taking the crown in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.32.

Ellington picked up her second All-American honor of the day in the 200-meter dash with a finish of 23.01 seconds to finish second, while Johnson earned her third in the same event, finishing third (23.10).

Richards was also a multiple-event All-American, as she placed seventh in the 400-meter hurdles in 59.69. Jhevere Hall was Lincoln's final point scorer of the afternoon, as she earned All-American distinction in the 800-meter run after placing fifth in 2:06.62.

Jonelle Campbell placed 13th in the long jump with a distance of 12.04 meters.

The Blue Tigers' total of 50 points was good for second best in the country behind fellow Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association member Central Missouri's 59. This marks the 11th time in 15 years Lincoln has placed either first or second and the 15th straight time Lincoln has finished in the top three.

New Mexico Highlands scored 42 points to place third while host Grand Valley State took fourth with 41 points. Pittsburg State of the MIAA rounded out the top five with 31 points.

_

The Lincoln men competed at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships as well, tying for 19th as a team. The Blue Tigers earned All-American honors in five events.

Miguel Barton led Lincoln with three All-American performances, scoring points for Lincoln in both the 200- and 400-meter dashes. In the 200, Barton placed fifth with a time of 21.04. Barton also came in fifth in the 400, clocking in at 46.62.

Earlier in the day, Barton picked up All-American honors by helping the Lincoln 4x100-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish. Wesley Best, Roger Blake and Romone Hill made up the other three legs of the foursome, which completed the race in 40.24.

Lincoln's other All-American was Winston Edwards, who earned the distinction in the 400-meter hurdles. Edwards timed in at 52.37, good for seventh place.

The Blue Tigers, who finished fourth earlier this month at the MIAA Championships, turned in the fourth-best finish of any MIAA program at the national meet with 15 points, behind fifth-place Pittsburg State (40 points), 11th-place Central Missouri (23) and 18th-place Missouri Southern (16). Saint Augustine's won the men's national championship with 53 points, edging second-place Findlay (50), while Ashland scored 43 points to check in at third.