Reitzell Earns Event Title; Warriors Place Ninth at Nationals

MARION, Ind. – Midland University joined schools and athletes in Marion, Indiana this week for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University. The Warriors had five athletes competing in five different events and placed ninth at the season's final meet. It is their 11th straight national meet where they finished in the top 25.

On Wednesday, Shandon Reitzell opened his meet with the prelims of the 400m hurdles. After hitting an early hurdle, which disrupted his rhythm, he finished with a time of 1:01.06 and placed 28th.

Thursday saw all five Warriors in action inside Wildcat Stadium. Evan Shepard began the busy afternoon with the 110m hurdle prelims. Entering with the 29th-best time, he improved positioning with a time of 14.82 to place 21st.

Robert Atwater, who qualified in a team-high three events, got his meet going with the long jump. Competing in the final flight of jumpers, he opened with a jump of 7.47m. With his second event of the day nearing its start time, Atwater attempted to better his positioning while also saving energy for the high jump. He wasn't able to get further than his opening effort, placing 5th overall and earning NAIA All-America honors.

In the high jump, Atwater was joined by teammates KeRon Blackwell, Ross McMahon, and Reitzell. The quartet made up 10 percent of the field and held four of the top ten marks coming into the meet. Atwater, Blackwell, and McMahon all cleared the opening height of 1.97m while Reitzell passed on his three attempts. At the second level, Atwater bowed out after missing his first try to place 19th. The other three Warriors all cleared on their first attempts of 2.02m and then did so again at 2.05m.

With the bar at 2.08m, and the field whittled down to a dozen jumpers, Blackwell and McMahon dropped out as Reitzell and three others moved on. Blackwell and McMahon both reached All-America status as they tied for 5th.

At 2.11m, the field of jumpers was cut down to three, and then at 2.14m, it became and two-person race for the national title with Reitzell going head to head with rival Michael Millslagle of Graceland. Both jumpers cleared 2.17m on their first attempts and then Reitzell was clean at 2.20m as well. That height set a new personal best and tied the Midland program record. Millslagle made his way over the bar on his final attempt. Neither jumper was able to clear the ensuing height as Reitzell won the event via the judge's decision (less misses as the most recent height) for the 2024 high jump crown. It is his fifth overall championship in the high jump, including indoors.

The final day saw Atwater wrap up the meet in his third event, pole vault. He was able to clear the opening height of 4.55m with ease and made it over the bar at the next two heights as well. After passing at the next height to preserve energy, he cleared the next two heights to secure his second All-America honor. He finished with a height of 4.90m for 6th place and tied the school record in doing so.

The University of the Cumberlands captured the men's team title and the Red Banner with 64 points. They edged past Marion University, who had 62 points, while the University of British Columbia finished third with 48 points.