ASHEVILLE, N.C. -
Hunter Roy took down his own school record in the 800m prelims and
Emmanuel De Leon raced the 10000m on Thursday on Day 2 of the NAIA Track and Field National Championships in Asheville, N.C.
Roy, who was an All-American in the 800m at the Indoor Championships, competed in the final heat, racing against an extremely talented field. Despite the talent and a fast start, Roy placed second in his heat in 1:49.58 for the fourth-fastest time in the field overall and earned a trip to the final.
"We got out fast. I saw 52.9 seconds for the first lap, and I decided to attack," Roy said. "I missed the final last year, so it felt good to see a season of determination and faith in the Lord pay off."
The 1:49 effort was his first ever under 1:50 and broke his own school record by a half second.
"Hunter was blessed with the race he was looking for this season," TMU Head Coach Daniel Rush said. "It went out fast and he held on to secure an easy qualifying spot in the final and an improvement on his own school record."
Emmanuel De Leon raced his second-to-last race in a Mustang uniform in the 10000m final on Thursday night. The Mustang senior came in 13th place in a time of 31:25, which was his best performance at Nationals to date.
"Manny ran tough in these humid conditions, passing multiple runners in the second half to improve on his previous national finishes," Coach Rush said. "He will get one more race as a Mustang tomorrow."
De Leon closed his 10000m in a 70-second final lap, and it was his fastest of the race. He will have one more race, as he is set to compete in the 5000m final with teammate Jack Anderson on Friday at 1:55 PDT.
