2016 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships Results

ROME, Ga. – In just its second year of being able to compete in an NCAA national championship, the Shorter track team turned in its most impressive showing ever when four athletes combined to earn six All-America honors at the 2016 Division II Indoor Championship that ended Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan.

Senior Ayana Walker and sophomore Alfred Chelanga each claimed All-America honors in two events, while junior Anelise Aldana and sophomore Supan Randeniya also stood on the awards podium.

Walker closed out her indoor career with the Lady Hawks with a second-place finish in the 400, an event in which she was the defending national champion, and just 40 minutes after completing that run sprinted to a fifth-place finish in the 200 finals.

Now a five-time NCAA track All-American – in addition to last year's indoor 400 title she earned the recognition twice during the 2015 outdoor season – Walker found herself battling for this year's crown with Carly Muscaro of Merrimack, who took the lead on the back stretch and held off Walker at the tape.

Walker stopped the clock at a school record 52.86 seconds but was unable to match the kick by Muscaro, who won with a 52.34.

In the 200 finals, Walker – she had the best preliminary time Friday with a school record 23.96 – covered the distance in 24.25 to finish fifth in the event won by Yanique Ellison, who bested the field with a 23.62.

Last fall's NCAA Division II Cross Country national champion, Chelanga entered Saturday's running of the 3,000 squaring off against a talented field that included most of the runners he faced on Friday night when the sophomore recorded a sixth place in the 5,000.

Chelanga took the lead midway through Saturday's race, but saw the winner of the 5K – Sydney Gidabuday of Adams State – take the lead for good with two laps to go and won the event in 8:23.13. Chelanga, however, stayed on pace to eventually finish in fifth place in 8:25.03 to return to the awards podium.

After advancing to the finals in the 60 hurdles with a strong showing Friday in his preliminary race, Randeniya made the most of a great start out of the blocks to eventually claim a sixth place finish in 8:07 in an event that saw Minnesota State's Myles Hunter best the field in a championship meet record time of 7.53.

Aldana found herself making the trip to the triple jump podium after edging out teammate Yamara Robinson on the final attempt of the event.

After both Lady Hawks notched the last two of nine spots to the finals when they each went 12.08 meters (39 feet, 7.75 inches) in their flight, the final jump by the pair proved to be the difference as Aldana unleashed a leap measuring 12.13 meters (39-9.75) that was less than a quarter of an inch longer than Robinson's final jump.

The Lady Hawks 4x400 relay team also competed Saturday but were unable to break into the awards list.

Also competing for Shorter at the meet was freshman sprinter Lester Miller, who missed advancing to the finals in the 60 when he came up a mere .01 seconds shy of qualifying.