MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Led by a victory in the men's 4 x 400 relay and three more podium finishes, the Lakeland University men's and women's track & field teams made an impression in sprinting events as the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Outdoor Championships wrapped up Saturday at Raabe Stadium.
The Muskies won their first NACC outdoor championship in eight years as part of a strong performance on the second day of the conference outdoor meet. The Lakeland men's team scored 34 of its 38 points on Saturday and finished sixth in the final team standings of 10 teams, while the Muskies women's team scored 20 of its 23 points on the second day and finished eighth in the final team standings.
The men's 4 x 400 relay of
Anthony Romens (
So.-Slinger, Wis.),
Tyler Jensen (
Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.),
Kevon Holbrook (
Jr.-Kankakee, Ill.) and
Trenton Nickel (
Sr.-Kiel, Wis.) finished in 3 minutes, 26.55 seconds, more than 1.5 seconds ahead of second-place Aurora University. The Muskies quartet was seeded third coming into the championship but cut nearly six seconds off of their previous season best.
The championship is the first for Lakeland in the NACC outdoor meet since
Vashia Gordon won a pair of championships in 2013, including defending her title in the women's high jump and also taking the triple jump.
The Muskies also added runner-up finishes and modern era school records in both the men's and women's 400-meter races. Nickel finished second in the men's 400 with a time of 49.89, behind only D.J. Anderson of Benedictine University who won in 49.27.
Nickel is the first Lakeland male to run below 50 seconds in the 400 and was one of two Muskies in the top five as Romens also finished fifth with a time of 51.71. Nickel also added a scoring finish for Lakeland in the men's 200, coming in sixth in the final in 22.89.
Kayla Bruton (
Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) also set a new school mark in the women's 400, finishing second in the event with a time of 59.29. Bruton became the first Lakeland female to run under a minute in the 400 and was one of just two below 60 seconds on Saturday, joined by champion Simone Wilson of Concordia University Chicago who finished in 58.20.
Bruton also added another podium finish in the 200, finishing in 26.00 to take third. She posted the best combined finish of any on the women's side in the 200 and 400, and she also added sixth-place finish in the 100 with a time of 13.21.
Bruton also was part of a women's 4 x 400 relay team that scored points, as she ran the anchor leg along with
Nydia Brewer (
Fr.-Redford, Mich.),
Sahara Gardner (
Fr.-Kewaunee, Wis.) and
Nathalie Cairo (
Jr.-Kenosha, Wis.) to finish sixth in 4:33.19.
Travis Eitel (
Fr.-Pine Island, Minn.) also added two more top fives for Lakeland with personal bests in the men's hurdles events. Eitel came in fourth in the 400 hurdles with a time of 59.89, and he also was fifth in the 110 hurdles finishing in 17.74. The Muskies also added another big PR from
Rhett Botzet (
So.-Appleton, Wis.) in the men's 1,500 meters, as he cut more than 15 seconds off his previous best in finishing in 5:00.24.
"What an amazing day for Lakeland track," said Muskies head coach
Pete Barth. "This was the culmination of lots of hard work, often outside in uncomfortable conditions. I'm so proud and blessed to be able to work with this wonderful group of Muskies." Barth also added special thanks to assistant coaches Mitch Deniswicz and Calvin Thomas, who "fed me ideas and were great support systems for our young men and women."
2021 NACC Outdoor Championships Final Results
