In what could have been a clean sweep for the men in the indoor and outdoor Big Sky Championship, they came up a few feet and seconds short. It was still the Hornet men’s best ever finish at the outdoor championships, finishing second behind Northern Arizona on Sunday.

The women had a strong showing as well, finishing fifth.

“We performed pretty well; I was pleased with everyone’s effort. We went up to a high altitude and performed with great effort and intensity. The second day the altitude started to get us,” Director of Track and Field Kathleen Raske said.

Raphael McFarlane, Jody Johnson and Daniel Imlach all brought home individual titles in the 100, 200 and pole vault respectively.

In what has been a friendly but competitive rivalry all season long, McFarlane ran a 10.38 to edge out teammate Johnson by .01 seconds. However, Johnson won the 200 with a time of 21.35 and McFarlane placed third with a time of 21.58. Chauncey Corbin did well in both events finishing fourth with times of 10.56 and 21.74.

Most of the scoring for the men came from this talented group of sprinters. The 4×100 relay team won as well, comprised of McFarlane, Johnson, Jason Nelson and Corbin. They set a new school record by running 40.16 and beating the competition by nearly half of a second.

Imlach won the pole vault with a mark of 16-00.75 to win a Big Sky title for the second time this year.

David Nichols had a strong performance, but surprisingly did not take home the title in the shot put. Instead, he finished second with a put of 58-09.5 behind Idaho State’s John Danielson who had a mark of 59-05.5. Nichols also placed second in the discus, throwing 167-08.

Nichols’ season isn’t done; he will compete in the shot at the NCAA regional in two weeks.

“Some days you got it, and some days you don’t,” Nichols said. “It was a great team effort, but now everything is focused on shot put for me.”

Chris Kirkwood had his best performance of the year finishing second in the javelin with a heave of 213-07, also a new school record. Kirkwood improved on his previous best by nearly three feet.

Raske stated that the Hornets are at a disadvantage at higher altitude meets, especially in distance running.

“There should be one designated neutral site for the Big Sky Championship. Five of the schools are located at 4,500 feet or higher. That is an unfair playing field, and we can’t compete with that,” she said.

Northern Arizona scored 68 points alone between the 800, 1500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Sac State did not score in any of the events, and it was the difference in Northern Arizona taking the men’s title.

On the women’s side, it was an impressive showing as well.

Nancy Searcy had an excellent meet scoring 24 points for the Hornets. She won the 100-meter hurdles by half of a second with a time of 13.87. In the 100, Searcy finished third with a time of 11.75. She also finished second in the long jump with a leap of 19-06.25.

Ahead of her in the long jump was teammate Lori Vaught who won with a mark of 19-09.5. It was Vaught’s best jump of the season. She also finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 40-06.

Melissa Tracey easily won the 400 meter hurdles defending her Big Sky title with a time of 1:00.44. She was followed in second by sophomore Morinsola Keshinro with a time of 1:01.30.

Tyreina Henley-Henderson rounded out the women’s field by finishing third in the 400 with a time of 54.83, and finished fourth in the 200 with a time of 24.53. She earned all-conference honors with her 400 performance and is now second in school history. Her time was the best in the 400 at Sac State since 1985.

“The women did a great job, they stepped it up,” Raske said. “We came out higher than we were expected. We just don’t have a lot of depth, but the athletes that competed performed at a very high level.”

Going into the NCAA regionals Sac State has 11 athletes competing (four women and seven men)

They include Ashley Ast in the javelin, Lori Vaught in the long and triple jump, Nancy Searcy in the long jump and 110 meter hurdles as well as Melissa Tracey in the 400 meter hurdles.

For the men, Daniel Imlach qualified in the polevault, while Raphael McFarlane qualified in the 4×100 relay, the 100 and the long jump. Jody Johnson qualified in the 4×100 and the 200. Chauncey Corbin will compete in the 4×100 and the 200. Jason Nelson qualified as the last member of the 4×100 relay. Chris Kirkwood qualified in the javelin, and David Nichols qualified in the shot put and discus.