MARIAN, Ind.- The Missouri Baptist Track & Field team saw the 2023 season come to a close with the end of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. Over the course of the three-day tournament (May 24-26), the Spartans earned an individual national title and another top ten finish.
 
Jordan Crawford, the resident racewalker, added a third national title to his MBU career. With a time of 21:20.97, the graduate student secured the gold almost a full minute ahead of his other competition. Crawford had also set a new personal record in the 5000-meter racewalk.
 
Mia Reed was just shy of earning All-American status in the 3000m steeplechase. Reed clocked in a time of 10:58.34 in the preliminaries, earning seventh to make her way into the final round. In the finals, the sophomore came away with a tenth place finish out of the 14 finalists with a time of 11:12.00.
 
Donovan Denslow and Grant Shankle were the other men's track & field team participants for the Spartans, Denslow competed in the 10,000m run for the Spartans. Competing against 33 other runners, the Eolia, Mo. native came way with a 25^th place finish with a time of 31:56.04. Shankle was the lone field athlete this go around, taking on the javelin throw. Out of the 30 throwers, Shankle earned 29^th with a distance of 46.87m.
 
The Women's 4x800m relay team also found themselves at nationals after qualifying at the 2023 AMC Outdoor Championships on May 4 -5. The team made up of Isabel Rinkenberger, Adrienne Rockette, Mattie Noyes, and Madison Sargent had a time of 10:02.40. The team placed 19^th in the prelims and unfortunately was unable to secure a place in the finals.