Pilots Fight on at NAIA Nationals

Burrington Earns All-American Honors on Final Day of NAIA Track Nationals

On the final day of competition at the NAIA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships, Bethel College’s Zach Burrington became an NAIA All-American by placing 3rd in the nation in the pole vault clearing 15’11”. In other men’s action on Saturday, another Pilot school record was broken when Calon Naragon finished 25th in the country in the marathon with a time of 2:43.19. Meanwhile in the women’s shot put, Nichole Arnold finished 11th in the nation for the Lady Pilots with a toss of 41’0”. The Pilots ended a very successful track season on a high note at the NAIA Outdoor National Meet as they turned in nine top 12 finishes during the course of the meet, and set four new school records along the way. In addition, Bethel head coach, Tony Natali, was recognized as the NAIA Region 8 Coach of the Year. This marks the third time that Coach Natali has earned this honor (2001, 2006, and 2008).

On the second day of competition on Friday, the men’s team broke three school records on their way to an impressive national showing.

Overall, the Pilots laid claim to five top ten finishes nationally on Friday. In the shot put, Travis LaVine placed 8th nationally with a school record toss of 53’3”. Teammate JJ Jackson finished 9th in the country with a throw of 52’6”. Meanwhile, Pilot sprinter Nate Phillips placed 9th in the nation in the 400m dash with a school record time of 48.38. And the Bethel 4x100m relay team of Trent Chupp, Brandon Thomas, Chris Warhop, and Nate Phillips finished 9th in the country with a school record time of 41.29.

Also competing for Bethel on Friday were Nichole Arnold in the discus finishing 10th in the nation with a throw of 142’0”, Amber Wray in the 5000m run where she finished 17th in the country with a time of 18:16.15, and Amanda Westcott in the triple jump placing 20th nationally with a jump of 36’2”. In addition, the men’s 4x400m relay team of Brandon Thomas, Nate Phillips, Jordan Heim, and Jontae Randolph placed 11th in the country with a time of 3:16.83, and the women’s 4x400m relay team of Beenne Capre, Heather Rathbun, Jessie Spearman, and Calyn Zahl finished13th in the nation with a time of 3:56.70. On Thursday, the team advanced to Friday’s semifinals in two events: the 4x100m relay team of Trent Chupp, Chris Warhop, Brandon Thomas, and Nate Phillips turned in a time of 42.11 in Thursday’s preliminaries to qualify for Friday’s semifinals. Nate Phillips also advanced to the semifinals in the 400m dash with a time of 48.71 in Thursday’s trials.

Also competing for the Bethel men on Thursday were Chris Warhop in the 100m dash where he finished 22nd in the nation with a time of 11.33, and JJ Jackson in the hammer placing 25th in the country with a throw of 145’11”. In addition, the men’s 4x800m relay team of Scott Robinson, Vincent Reel, Ryan Starkel, and Andy Gray finished 16th in the nation with a time of 7:47.24. On the women’s side, Ann O’Keefe cleared 10’10” in the pole vault, good for a 12th place finish in the nation, and Danae Ellison placed 22nd nationally also in the pole vault clearing 10’4” for the Lady Pilots.