NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Track and Field stars set records

Tarleton competitors won individual event NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships in women’s long jump and men’s 4x400-meter relay race this May in Allendale, Michigan.

Senior jumper Euphemia Edem captured the national championship on her final effort, hurtling 6.56 meters—a personal best, a Tarleton record, a facility record and the Lone Star Conference All-Time record.

The Texan 4x400-meter relay team of Terrance Gross, Cameron Krc, Clarencio Guerrero and Gilson Umunnakwe raced to the national championship in a Tarleton record time of 3:08.25.

Tarleton nearly posted a third national champion when defending 1,500-meter national champion Chase Rathke led the race coming off the final curve with 100 meters to go, only to lose the sprint to the finish with Adams State’s Oliver Aitchison. Rathke won the championship last year and this was his first 1,500-meter loss in his college career, finishing in 3:46.82 to Aitchison’s 3:45.92.

“Chase executed the race plan to a T,” said Tarleton Head Coach Pat Ponder. “I fully expect to see Chase Rathke back at the national championships next year.”

The final leap catapulting Edem to the championship exceeded her own expectations.

“I didn't expect it,” she said. “Ending that way in a competitive fashion, with all those girls jumping over 6.5 meters, was great.”

The Lone Star Conference indoor and outdoor track and field female athlete of the year, Edem erased the 31-year-old conference mark of 6.45 meters.

“I'm super excited for Euphemia,” said Ponder. “She did an outstanding job. She competed when you had to compete in those last few jumps, and she represented Tarleton very well.”

The senior, who transferred to Tarleton from Stillman College in Alabama, repeatedly made history in her lone year as a TexAnn. Edem broke four school records—indoor long jump, indoor triple jump, outdoor long jump, outdoor triple jump—and added a fifth record as a member of the TexAnn 4x100m relay team.

For the champion 4x400 team, Ponder credited Assistant Coach Justin Hobbs with getting the team mentally prepared. "That was just phenomenal," said Ponder, with each athlete executing “the perfect race.”

In the finals, "Clarencio (Guerrero) had the fastest split…, but you can't just have one guy doing the work,” Ponder said. “You have to have four guys committed to the race plan and achieving the goal. We had two 46's and two 47's—that's not too bad.”

The Texans and TexAnns each finished 15th overall.

“It's been a great year for Tarleton track and field,” said Ponder. “It's the largest group that we've taken to the national championships.”

The TexAnns finished as the top team among Lone Star Conference competitors.

“On the guys’ side, we weren't even ranked and we established ourselves as a top-15 team,” Ponder said. “We're on the right track and we're doing things the right way. They're good representatives of the university, on and off the track.”

Relay Race Team members Terrance Gross (front left), Cameron Krc (front right), Gilson Ummuanakwe (back left) and Clarencio Guerrero (back right). Euphemia Edem