March 29, 2024

Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris (Kickapoo) Wins 5K at Oklahoma Baptist Open; Gains NAIA National Championships Bid

SHAWNEE, Okla. – Oklahoma City University’s Evan Doremus posted a meet-record leap in the Oklahoma Baptist Open on Saturday at the Eddie Hurt Jr. Memorial track & field complex.

The Stars took three wins, while two OCU competitors reached A-standard qualifying marks, and three others attained B-standard qualifying times for the NAIA Championships.

Doremus, a sophomore from Cypress, Texas, elevated his way over 6 feet, 9.5 inches in the high jump to better the event mark set by William Moses of Langston in 2009. Doremus holds the fifth best leap in the NAIA this season.

Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris (Kickapoo Tribe) of Oklahoma City hit provisional qualifying marks in the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters. Harris won the 5K with a time of 14 minutes, 54.62 seconds. The Stars’ Kyle Wardwell finished second in the event, while Reno Blumhad a fourth-place showing. Dylan Smith-Sutton ended in sixth.

OCU’s Michael Vercoe-Curtis made the automatic qualifying standard in the 1,500. Curtis, a sophomore from Auckland, New Zealand, finished fourth in the 1,500 with a time of 3:53.20. Harris, a sophomore from Norman, Okla., followed in sixth, and Wardwell, a junior from Norman, Okla., sat in seventh.

On the women’s side, Sara Moore turned in a B-standard qualifying performance in the 1,500 by completing the race in 4:42.44. Moore, a sophomore from Omagh, Ireland, also took fourth in the 800 with a 2:17.90.

The Stars’ Michaela Werner, a freshman from Grove, Okla., recorded the winning time of 18:11.06 in the 5K.

The NAIA Championships happen May 21-23 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Oklahoma City runs in the Emporia State Relays on April 4 in Emporia, Kan.