(ORANGE BEACH, Alabama) On the first day of the 2017 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Westmont’s Dan McCollum and Dana Bowers each earned All-American honors and the 4×800 meter relay team consisting of Anne Elise Brown, Hope Geisinger, Emily Parks, and Taryn Phipps, set a new school record to advance to the finals.

Eight men and 14 women are representing the Westmont Men’s and Women’s Track and Field team.

Today’s men’s results are as follows:

In the 1500 meter race Michael Conant placed 20th in a time of 4:04.19 seconds and Michael Oldach placed 14th in a time of 3:54.82 – both runners did not advance to the finals.

Dan McCollum, Joseph Miller and Eric Wong each competed in Men’s Javelin – Wong placed 16th with a throw of 50.52 meters, Miller placed 9th with a throw of 55.95 meters, and McCollum earned All-American honors, placing seventh with a throw of 56.50 meters.

Jackson Nemitz and Pieter Top represented the Warriors in the Men’s Decathlon and competed in five of ten events today – the 100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, and the 400 meter race. Nemitz placed ninth in the 100 meter with a time of 11.59 seconds, tenth in long jump in a distance of 6.26 meters, tenth in shot put with a throw of 10.54 meters, 16th in high jump with a height of 1.69 meters, and did not compete in the 400 meter race. After day one, Nemitz has a score of 2432 points.

Top placed first in the 100 meter with a time of 11.09, second in long jump in a distance of 6.65 meters, 12th in shot put with a throw of 10.09 meters, 12th in high jump with a height of 1.72 meters, and second in the 400 meter race. After day one, Top has a score of 3,438 points and is currently third in the overall standings – only 67 points away from first place. Tomorrow, the decathletes will finish up with the 110 meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, and the 1500 meter run.

Today’s Women’s results are as follows:

Kelly Collins finished 13th in the 10,000 meter race in a time of 37:57.53 – the ninth fastest time in the Westmont record books; and Madison Herrera finished tenth in Long Jump with a jump of 5.60 meters (18-4.5).

Dana Bowers earned All-American honors and set a new Westmont school record in Women’s Pole Vault when she placed seventh with a jump of 3.75 meters (12-3.5).

Anne Elise Brown, Hope Geisinger, Emily Parks, and Taryn Phipps placed fourth and set a new school record in the 4×800 meter relay with a time of 9:06.91 – they shattered the previous school record set in 1999 by 5.49 seconds. The previous best for the foursome was 9:18.45, which was the second best in school history. That was run on May 13 of this year, so they improved by 11.45 seconds in less than just two weeks. The relay team will run in the 4×800 relay finals tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.

Becky Collier competed in the first four events of the Women’s Heptathlon – she placed second in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.09, first in high jump in a height of 1.76 meters, eighth in shot put with a throw of 10.28 meters, and ninth in the 200 meter run with a time of 26.48. In the overall standings, Collier is currently in first place, with second place only 53 points behind. Tomorrow, the heptathletes will finish up with Long Jump, Javelin, and the 800 meter run.