As the final day of competition begins at the 2010 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, a trio of student-athletes from Hannibal-LaGrange have wrapped up their portion of the competition.
Running strongly in the top-10 through the first two miles of the 10,000m race, sophomore Philiph Tonui reaggravated a foot injury shortly thereafter and, despite considerable pain, bravely finished the race, placing 26th with a time of 33:23.89.
Junior Carissa Eichmeyer toed the line in the 5,000m racewalk nursing a nagging knee injury that has hindered her training. In a scorching midday heat, Carissa battled the elements and her knee to gut out a 15th place finish in a time of 33:30.37.
Junior Cara Grinde competed in the pole vault and, despite several good attempts, failed to clear the opening height of 3.43m, a mark she cleared earlier in the season to qualify for the championships.
Coach Comments: Once again, Cara, Carissa, and Philiph represented Hannibal-LaGrange well at the NAIA championships. It was tough to see both Philiph and Carissa struggle with their injuries. Their hearts and minds were right where they needed to be but their bodies just wouldn't let them go like they wanted to. I am so proud of them for not quitting when it was an option and for showing great determination, heart, and spirit to finish what they started. We came here with the primary goal of honoring Christ through our efforts and I hope that He is pleased with how our group represented Him.
The outdoor championships caps off a great year for HLG which saw the school gain its first ever cross country national qualifier and 7 track & field national qualifiers.
The team will now break for the summer, where the members of the cross country team will begin training for the upcoming cross country season. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a press release on the new recruits for the upcoming season.
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