Senior Josh Bradley competes

by Tim Baldi
Staff Writer

Last Saturday, April 10, the Bryan College Track & Field team competed in the 44th annual Sea Ray Relays at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The event hosted nearly 1,200 athletes between Wednesday and Saturday.

Bryan runners placed fourth in the 4×800 meter, setting a new Bryan record and the second fastest time in the NAIA with 7 minutes and 42 seconds.

The finishing time also qualified Bryan’s 4×800 team for the NAIA Outdoor National Championship on May 27-29.

“We can compete with anybody,” said Head Coach Rodney Stoker. “It’s just a matter of believing it.”

The team was in second place behind Illinois State after the second leg of the race. However, two teams passed the Lions during the remaining two legs.

Freshmen Jason McLeod and Alex Stephens, sophomore Bryson Harper and senior Joshua Bradley competed in the relays on Friday and Saturday of last week.

“It was impressive how our boys competed,” said Stoker.

McLeod and Stephens ran personal bests in the 4×800 which was their first relay competition.

During Friday’s relays, Harper set a personal best in the 1500 at 3:58. Later in the evening, Bradley made fourth in the second section of the 800 at 1:53.

Several other schools participated in the relays such as Illinois State University (Normal), Milligan College (Milligan College, Tenn.), Lee University (Cleveland, Tenn.) Alabama University (Tuscaloosa) and University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.

The Lions will face their next rivals Thursday and Friday at Western Carolina University for the AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Cullowhee, N.C.

We see them out running nearly every day, whether it is warm or cold, sunny, raining or snowing. Sometimes even twice a day. They put hours into training their bodies, toning their muscles and refining their movements. P90X is a common phrase in their vocabulary. Nearly every weekend they trade extra sleep for long bus rides. Ice baths and ice wraps are routine. Even in the summer they receive emails outlining the workouts they are to complete.

All because they love running.

It’s no wonder with this high level of dedication that the Bryan College Track & Field team continues to set records. This season promises to be no different.

With three records and a runner-up finish already under their belts, the Lions’ season looks promising.

Last weekend, the Lions traveled to Winston-Salem, N.C., to compete in the two-day Wake Forest Open at Kentner Stadium.

Redshirt freshman Alyssia Lindsay set school records in the women’s 1,500 and 800-meter runs. Friday afternoon Lindsay ran a personal best of 2:27.70 in the 800-meter. In her 1,500-meter run the following day she took sixth in section five at 5:02.33, according to the Lion’s website.

“[Lindsay] has come a long way in a short time and has a bright future,” said head coach Rodney Stoker.

Senior Josh Bradley took second out of 120 in the men’s 800-meter run with a season best of 1:51.89. Bradley’s time qualifies him for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship at the end of May.

Junior Zach Buffington also finished with a qualifying time for the championship while setting a school record for the 10,000 meter with a time of 32:02.90.

Freshman Jason McLeod won the fourth section of the men’s 1,500 meter run with a personal best of 4:03.64. McLeod also ran a personal best the previous evening in the men’s 5,000 meter with a time of 15:42.26.

“To sum it up, it was a great weekend for our athletes. Buffington’s 10k record was impressive and his fitness and confidence are at an all-time high. [McLeod] continues to improve and set the tone for our freshmen athletes,” said Stoker.

“We can only benefit from aiming high,” said Stoker. “We hope to do well at the conference championship in mid April, but it will tough to finish high without an entire squad. We have the middle distance races covered and have one jumper and hurdler on the men’s side, but to do well you need all the event areas covered and that is something that is challenging.”

Keeping the team healthy is also always a concern. Shin splints and pulled muscles, among other injuries, are nearly inevitable when running an average of 60 or more miles a week.

“Any time you train at a high level and push the volume or intensity it can lead to injuries,” said Stoker. “We are a pretty cautious group, but you do start to take more chances with the training as the outdoor season progresses.”

Bryan will travel to Nashville for Vanderbilt University’s Black & Gold Challenge on March 27.

Bryan College track and field team competed in Clemson (S.C.) University’s Tiger Tune Up this past Saturday where they took four top-five finishes and qualified four runners and a relay for the near NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

“We had a good weekend,” said Head Coach Rodney Stoker. “I didn’t have a lot of expectations. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on the young kids, but one of our guys, who’s been All-American a few times, was expected to win his race, and he did.”

Stoker was referring to senior Josh Bradley, who took the top spot in the men’s 800-meter race with a season best time of 1:54.36.“It was a low-key meet,” said Bradley, “but I think we came away with several solid performances that set us up nicely for Indoor Nationals at [East Tennessee State University].”

Freshman Alex Stephens and sophomore Alyssia Lindsay also put their marks on the 800-meter run, as Stephens won his heat with a personal record of 2:00.44 and Lindsay set an indoor personal best with 2:30.91.

Commenting on his freshmen runners, Stoker said, “It’s funny when [they] all run personal bests and they’re disappointed. They want to be good, and I guess that’s a pretty good problem to have.”

The 800-meter race, however, was not the only event dominated by the Lions as junior Zach Buffington and senior Daniel Goetz finished third and fourth in the men’s 3000-meter run, with Buffington clocking his qualifying time for nationals.

The Lions also took several places in the men’s mile as sophomore Bryson Harper hit his qualifying time for Nationals and raced into fifth place with freshmen Jason McLeod and Drew Thompson close behind, taking eighth and ninth, respectively.

“Our philosophy is to win,” said Stoker. “We try to teach them to be competitive and to always put themselves in a position to win the race, not always thinking about [their] time…. Through my experiences in watching our athletes, when they set a big personal best, it’s when they’ve really competed.”

Bradley’s comments show that the Lions are right on track with this philosophy as “most of the nine guys and two girls that went [to Clemson] did a workout after the meet, because [they’re] focused on nationals.”

“Two weeks from now, right before spring break, is nationals and there’s no doubt that that’s the highlight of the indoor season,” remarked Stoker. “We’re going to try to come away with some All-Americans, and if we do that, we’ll be satisfied.”

Coach Rodney Stoker with the Nationals-qualifying Lady Lions cross country team. Photo courtesy of Ericka Simpson

by Lana Douglas
Staff Writer

The Bryan Lion ladies’ cross country team went to the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Cross Country National Championships for the first time Nov. 21 in Vancouver, Wash.

Sophomore Ericka Simpson finished 20:59 in 241st place, freshman Liz Olsen finished 21:09 in 248th place and sophomore Alyssia Lindsay finished 21:58 in 287th place.

“I don’t know if it is so much about winning or losing, it’s more about just taking chances and using all the opportunities you have and doing your best,” said Olsen before the race.

Olsen started running track in 7th grade and competed in many races. This is Olsen’s first time at nationals for cross country.

According to Head Coach Rodney Stoker, it can be overwhelming when there are 300 other girls running, the crowd is yelling, it is raining and it is 40 degrees outside.

“I thought they handled it did pretty well,” said Stoker.

Although the women did not place high, it was a good experience and hopefully the first of many national competitions.

“It was a really cool opportunity and a good learning experience,” said Olsen.

The Bryan College Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams are on a hot streak right now after winning the Southeastern Classic some two weeks ago. However, bigger challenges await them as they head to North Carolina to compete in the Appalachian Athletic Conference meet hosted by Montreat College, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Junior Colby Smith expressed his confidence in the fact that the team has prepared diligently for the task ahead of them.

“We gotta win this weekend because the winners of the meet get an automatic place in NAIA Nationals. I feel pretty confident because Coach Stoker gives us goals that we have to meet during each race, and as long as we reach those, we’re in a good spot,” Smith said.

Junior Bryson Harper said that the other teams are not just going to lie down and give the Lions the win, but it will be a great weekend and a great effort for them. Harper said that the improvements that the team has experienced are largely because of the freshmen.

“It’s the best class we have had come in since the start of our program not long ago, and they have really stepped up to the level that we expect from everyone on the team,” said Harper.

Harper added that these improvements do not come on their own, but that Coach Rodney Stoker is the reason that they are doing well. Harper said that Stoker knows what he is doing and knows how to take care of the runners.