The Wayland women's track and field program has won a NAIA-record five Indoor National Team Championships, including the last two. The Pioneers will begin the process of qualifying for the national meet and a sixth banner this weekend in Lubbock at the Texas Tech Indoor Open.
"Our sprints and jumps are going to have to carry the load this year," says Coach Brian Whitlock, who has won four national titles in the three years since taking over as head of the Pioneer track and field program. "We have a shot at winning another banner this year, but it is going to be tough."
Whitlock and associate head coach Rohan Thompson are looking at three young women to be the "load carriers" this season. Those three combined to score 38 of the team's 68 points at the Indoor Championships last March. Kimberly Smith is the two-time defending champion in both the indoor and outdoor short sprints. The junior from Jamaica set an indoor meet record two years ago in the 60-meter dash and established a new school record at last year's championship in the 200-meters.
Junior Latanya Nation finished as the runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles in a school-record time, was third in the long jump, and just missed out on points in the triple jump with a seventh place finish.
Nation is joined in the jumps by sophomore Bianca Grant, who earned All-American honors in both the long jump (4th place) and the triple jump (sixth place) as a freshman.
The Pioneer coaching staff is also looking at two other returning sprinters, senior Keliesha Ross and sophomore Leandria Lee, as potential point producers in individual events and to help out on the 4x4 relay team, which failed to make the podium last year for the first time in four years.
Junior Demetrice Gilliam, a 2009 national indoor qualifier in the 400-meters, and sophomore Krystal Noggler will add additional depth to the Pioneer relay teams. Also seeing action for the Wayland women are freshman Jessica Salazar, a multi-event athlete, and sprinter Brittnay Walton.
According to Whitlock, the Pioneer distance teams will be down this year after losing two of its major point producers. Caroline Karunde and Purity Biwott combined for 18 points at the Indoor Championships and 36 points at the Outdoor Championships a year ago, and were a major part of two record-setting championship relay teams, but the two Kenyan natives transferred to Texas Tech University over the summer to pursue nursing degrees.
"Losing those two is a major blow, but we do get back senior Kydia Echols who is looking better than ever so far. She should score points in the 600, and will be a significant boost to the relay teams."
Echols, an eight-time All-American, suffered an injury last year and was forced to red-shirt both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She joins fellow senior Elva Pedroza, a four-time All-American in the 4x800-meter relay, and three freshmen, Milca Villgas, Catherine Leubner and Jennifer Secrest, on the middle-distance/distance team.
"If we can piece together a 4x8 or a Distance Medley Relay team to go with what we have returning, we should have another successful showing at the national meet, but to win another title everything is going to have to go perfectly."
