by GULF SHORES, Ala. – Oklahoma City University’s Arya Bahreini repeated as marathon national champion in the NAIA men’s outdoor track and field championships Saturday at the Gulf Shores Sports Complex.
OCU took four all-American nods and finished 11th place among the team standings with 27 points. The Stars’ Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris picked up runner-up in the 1,500 meters, while David Mountford had all-American performances in the 5,000 (third place) and the 10,000 (sixth).
Bahreini ran the marathon in a personal-best 2 hours, 24 minutes, 13.7 seconds. At the beginning of the race, the temperature was 64 degrees with 83 percent relative humidity. As the marathon continued, the temperature hit 78 degrees, and the humidity went to 61 percent. Bahreini, a junior from Edmond, Okla., took the 2014 event with a time of 2:29:06.08.
“I thought the meet was a huge success and it was great to see the women’s and men’s track teams run with great focus and desire,” OCU coach Conor Holt said. “Arya ran a smart race and looked great the whole way. Not many people can say that they are a two-time champion.”
In the 1,500, Wahpehpah-Harris, a sophomore from Norman, Okla., clocked a time of 4:00.47. Matthew Clowes of Concordia (Ore.) earned the win by .36 seconds.
In the 5,000, Mountford recorded a time of 14:55.62 for his second career all-American honor in the event. Kyle Wardwell, a junior from Norman, Okla., finished 11th in the event with a time of 15:16.01.
On Friday, Mountford, a sophomore from Shotton, Wales, completed the 10,000 in 31:03.67.
“On the track, I was really excited to see Mackenzie nearly win the 1,500,” Holt said. “Dave Mountford had a really nice double. I thought Kyle Wardwell ran really well in the 5K and has represented our program with class over the last two years.”
Also in the marathon, the Stars’ Reno Blum, a junior from Tahlequah, Okla., had a 12th-place finish in 2:47:13.0. Dylan Smith-Sutton, a junior from Midwest City, Okla., completed the race in 2:58:58.0, which was 23rd.
“I thought Reno and Dylan both did a wonderful job as well,” Holt said. “I am very excited about our recruiting class that we have coming in, and they will definitely add to the point scale down the road and duplicate on the track what we have done as a program in cross country.”
