EMPORIA, Kan. – The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships drew to a close on Saturday, with Fresno Pacific putting the finishing touches on another strong weekend. The Sunbirds ended the day with 16 All-Americans, and both FPU teams ending the season as a top-15 team in the nation.
 
"This was the largest team we have ever brought to the National Championships, and even as the standard of performance gets higher every year, we continue to rise to the level needed to be nationally relevant," head coach Ray Winter said. "Our athletes are deeply committed to their craft, and we have a group incredible assistant coaches, and both of those groups deserve all the credit."
 
Dejan Mileusnic started the day for the Blue and Orange, turning in a new personal best in the men's javelin with a throw of 79.01m (259' 2") to grab second place. His mark was only behind a new Division II and facility record, and Mileusnic has now finished as a top two javelin thrower in the country in each of the last two years.
 
The women's 4x100 relay was the first of three Sunbird relay teams to compete in Saturday's finals, and the team of Nydia Chance, Brianna Green, Sariyah Copeland and Ariana Vera turned in a third-place finish behind a school-record time of 44.40. In one of the closest races of the day, the top five teams, including three PacWest Conference teams, were separated by seven-tenths of a second.
 
Shemar Palmer continued a remarkable sophomore campaign, earning second place in the men's 400 after recording a season-best time of 45.73. Less than two-hours later, Palmer picked up fourth in a loaded 200 field, doing so with a time of 20.67.
 
Copeland produced a new personal best to finish the women's 200 in second place, with her time of 22.97 landing her atop the storied FPU record books. Her second-place finish is also the highest of any FPU athlete in the history of the event, and her time passes decorated former Sunbird Kyla Richardson.
 
Palmer served as the opening leg of the men's 4x400 relay, with teammates Garrett Fox, Bo Olsen and Zavian Cook following suit to combine for a seventh-place finish and a time of 3:09.84. FPU has only qualified for nationals twice in school history, and Saturday marked the first time the Sunbirds competed in the 4x400 relay finals.
 
In the final event of the day, the Sunbirds found themselves in familiar territory as the women's 4x400 relay team lined up in the finals for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Copeland, Green, Vera and freshman anchor Kenadhi Haslip wrapped up the day in fifth place behind a combined mark of 3:38.65.
 
"It was so much fun to see Sunbirds again making so much noise at the national level," Winter said. "We are definitely trending upward, as most of our squad returns next year to lead an amazing recruiting class."