HILLSBORO, Kan. – The Ottawa University men's track and field team made an impressive showing at the 2023 KCAC Outdoor T&F Championships hosted by Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan. The Braves third place team finish was the best since OU switched back to the KCAC from the HAAC in 1982. Jaylan Washington and Kayron Johnson earned Athletes of the Meet with their standout performances. 

The team's top athlete, Jaylan Washington, dominated the men's 100 and 200 meters, winning both events with times of 10.21 and 21.32 seconds respectively, earning him a NAIA "A" standard qualifying mark. Washington's performances in the preliminaries and finals were outstanding, setting the tone for the team's overall success. In the preliminaries for the 100 meters, Washington recorded a time of 10.22 seconds, while his teammate Cameron Jackson ran a time of 10.95 seconds, securing a spot in the finals.
 
In the 200 meters preliminaries, Washington finished with a time of 21.69 seconds, securing a spot in the finals, along with his teammates Jackson and Jahkoby Franklin. In the finals, Washington dominated the event, finishing first with a time of 21.32 seconds, cementing his status as one of the top sprinters in the NAIA.
 
In addition to the team's impressive performances in the sprints, Camren Smith also competed in the 400 meters, finishing in 17th place with a time of 51.72 seconds, while Jackson finished in 18th place with a time of 51.84 seconds.
 
Kayron Johnson, a junior, was another standout performer for the team, winning both the men's 110-meter hurdles and the men's 400-meter hurdles. His time of 14.36 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles finals earned him an NAIA A rating. Johnson's time of 54.64 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles also earned him an NAIA rating. James Reeder, also a junior, finished fifth in the men's 110-meter hurdles finals with a time of 15.25 seconds. Kennard Issac, a sophomore, finished 10th in the men's 400-meter hurdles section 1 with a time of 1:05.74.
 
Nicholas Hatfield, a sophomore, finished in 31st place in the men's 1500-meter section 1 with a time of 5:53.25.
 
Another standout performance came in the men's 4 x 100 relay, as Jahkoby Franklin, Kayron Johnson, Cameron Jackson, and Jaylan Washington clocked in at 41.32 seconds to win the conference title. The time also met the NAIA A qualifying standards.
 
In the men's 4 x 400 relay, the same quartet of Jackson, Johnson, Smith, and Washington finished 10th overall with a time of 3:32.63 in both the open section and section 2.
 
In the men's high jump, sophomore Hadyn Bieling earned second place with a mark of 2.00 meters (6'6.75") and cleared all heights up to 2.00m on his first attempts, including the winning height. Freshman Bryan Cooper finished fourth with a mark of 1.95m (6'4.75") after also clearing all heights up to 1.95m on his first attempts. Freshman Akeil Williams cleared 1.85m (6'0.75") to place ninth.
 
In the men's long jump, junior Mario Cheatem had the team's best finish with a fifth-place mark of 6.94m (22'9.25"), which he achieved on his fourth attempt. Freshman Corey Brown placed 12th with a mark of 6.16m (20'2.5"), while Johnson, Cooper, and Joren Rentie finished 13th, 14th, and 18th respectively in their flights.
 
In the Men's Triple Jump, the Braves had three athletes score points. Mario Cheatem placed sixth with a mark of 13.54m (44' 5.25"), Kayron Johnson placed seventh with 13.27m (43' 6.5"), Bryan Cooper placed eighth with 13.18m (43' 3"), and Corey Brown placed ninth with 12.91m (42' 4.25").
 
In the Men's Javelin, OU had three more athletes score team points. Jacob Ludwick placed first with a mark of 61.50m (201' 9"). Billy Maples placed fourth with 50.78m (166' 7"), Ezekiel Reazin placed seventh with 47.46m (155' 8"), Isaac Gibson placed ninth with 46.50m (152' 7"), Kennard Issac placed fifteenth with 38.19m (125' 3"), and Christopher Rosas placed sixteenth with 29.40m (96' 5"). In the Men's Shot Put, Carter Genzen placed twentieth with a mark of 8.96m (29' 4.75").


 
Up Next: The Braves currently have four national qualifiers in six different events; Washington (100m & 200m), Johnson (110m Hurdles & 400m Hurdles), Bieling (High Jump), Ludwick (Javelin). The relay team of Franklin, Jackson, Johnson, and Washington will also head to nationals.