Wayland Baptist junior sprinter Kimberly Smith has not lost an individual race all year, and that didn't change over the weekend when the Pioneer men's and women's sprinters traveled to Colorado to compete in the Air Force Academy Indoor Invitational.

Smith not only took first place in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes at competition, but the native of Jamaica broke two more school records in the process. She won the 60 in a time of 7.23, which is .06 better than her previous best set last year at the University of New Mexico. Smith then ran a 24.02 in the 200m, taking .3 off the school-record time of 24.34 that she ran last year at the NAIA Championships. The two-time defending NAIA champion in both events, Smith has the top time by a large margin in both races so far this year as well. The 2010 NAIA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 4-6 in Johnson City, Tenn.

Two teammates of Smith also improved their previous automatic qualifying marks in the 60-meters. Sophomore Bianca Grant ran a 7.56 to finish second, while Keliesha Ross came in fifth with a time of 7.66.

Ross met the automatic qualifying standard in the 200-meters for the first time with her fourth place finish. The junior from Arlington, Tex., crossed the finish line in 24.99. Sophomore Leandria Lee bettered her previous provisional mark by running a 25.57 for a seventh place finish.

Ross, Lee, Smith and Demetrice Gilliam combined to run in fourth place in the 4x440 yard relay. The foursome ran a 3:55.81 to improve on their previous automatic berth.

Latanya Nation also showed improvement in Colorado, bettering her automatic qualfiying time with an 8.86 in the 60-meter hurdles, while Grant posted a triple jump of 11.35 meters (37-03) to best her former mark.

On the men's side, four WBU athletes turned in improved performances over previous automatic qualifying standards, and one met the provisional mark for the first time.

Junior Caleb McLean won the 400-meters with a time of 48.24, the second-best time in the NAIA so far this year, while teammate Andre Hamilton ran a 48.75 to finish fifth.

Freshman Myrun Roundtree finished the 60-meters in 6.88 for fifth place, and sophomore Jerry-Lee Davis ran a 21.65 in the 200-meters. Lee Prevost, another sophomore, hit the provisional mark with a 21.82 in the 200-meters. Davis and Prevost came in third and fourth in the event.

The Wayland women wrapped up the meet with 66 points, finishing third out of 18 teams. The men captured 42 points for a fifth place finish.

While the sprinters ran in the high altitude, the Pioneer distance runners competed in Norman, Okla. at the Oklahoma Christian Invitational on Saturday. Five athletes won individual events and two relay teams turned in first place performances in Oklahoma. In addition, two athletes hit new automatic qualifying marks and three new provisional standards were also met.

Kennedy Kithuka added to his already impressive debut season with a first place finish in the 1000-meters. The freshman from Kenya ran a 2:29.22. Another freshman, Edward Taragon, won the 3000-meters with a new provisional mark of 8:47.91. Taragon also took first in the Mile run (5:26.65).

Other first place finishers were Kydia Echols in the 600-meters (1:35.97) and Catherine Leubner in the 3000-meters (11:03.99).

Both the men's and women's 4x880 yard relay teams also finished first, improving their seed times for the national championship in thre weeks. Echols, Milca Villegas, Jennifer Secrest and Elva Pedroza ran a 9:27.23, while the men's team of Jarrod Morris, Hildon Boen, Kithuka and Kirby Dunn ran a 7:58.78.

The additional new automatic mark was recorded by Dunn who ran the 600-meters for the first time this season, finishing third with a time of 1:21.08. The other new provisional standards were met by Villegas in the 800-meters and the women's 4x440 yard B team.

The Pioneers will join forces once again this coming Friday for their final tune-up before nationals when they travel to Lincoln, Neb. to compete in the Nebraska Tuneup.