WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The reigning Sooner Athletic Conference Runner of the Week Gracie Sanders put together another outstanding result, taking fourth in the women's 4K race while Jaden Rodriguez and Aidan Collins posted the two fastest men's 6K times in program history at the Mustang Derby hosted by Midwestern State on Thursday evening.
The women's race opened the event and once again, Sanders blazed a sensational time of 14:27.0, finishing only behind Kinley Kite and Brooke Latham from Oklahoma Christian and Ella Pando from Midwestern State while finishing just 29 seconds off from the winning time.
Ainsley Velasquez finished second for the Evangels for the second consecutive race, scoring 48 points after crossing the line with a 64th place time of 17:16.8. Jacqueline Torres came in close behind with a 68th place time of 17:30.1 to net 52 points.
Overall, the Evangels placed 10th out of the 11 teams that competed in the event that featured primarily NCAA Division II teams and placed in a tie Southwestern Oklahoma with 232 points.
In the men's race, Jaden Rodriguez found himself at the top of MACU's 6K record book when he crossed the line with the seventh-place time of 19:51.3, marking the first sub 20-minute time in program history. The mark shattered the previous record held by Mason Baker, who originally set the record with a 20:41.49 in the JK Gold Classic on Sept. 2, 2023.
Aidan Collins recorded the second-fastest 6K time when he turned in a 20:36.5 to take 21st place in the 70-man race.
As a whole, five Evangels in the race recorded times in the top six of the record book with Cameron Pearson turning in a 21:14.4, Connor Gerth tallying a 21:23.6 and Ethan Hillis setting his personal-best at 21:28.5.
As a team, Mid-America Christian placed sixth out of seven teams in the event.
Mid-America Christian will return the course on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the DBU Old Glory Gallop in Grand Prairie, Texas. The men's 8k race is scheduled for an 8:15 a.m. start while the women's 5k is slated to begin at 9:15 a.m. at Lynn Creek Park.
