The University of Redlands track & field program produced nine All-Americans in the final day of competition at the 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in Delaware, OH, on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University. From a team-scoring standpoint, the men finished tied for 14th overall, collecting 16 points over the three-day meet, while the women's team tied for 65th with two points.
Passing the baton around in 3:54.09, the combination of senior Heather Mayer (Spring Valley, CA) and sophomores Ashley Lively (Las Vegas, NV), Samantha Rivera (Thousand Oaks, CA) and Vainayaki Sivaji (North Hollywood, CA) ran the third-fastest time in program history, earning the group an eighth-place finish and All-America status.
Senior javelin thrower Mackenzie Smith (Hoquiam, WA) finalized her illustrious Bulldog career by garnering an All-America throw for the fourth consecutive year. With her toss of 137'11", the senior finished eighth overall while eclipsing the 137-feet mark for the fourth time in 2011. Smith now becomes the first and only UR women's student-athlete to earn All-America accolades in the same event during each of her four years.
The men's 4x100m Relay clocked in one of the best performances in school history, recording a 41.19 mark. The quartet of seniors Andy Green (Seattle, WA) and Ross Blanchard (Novato, CA), along with sophomore Ryan Shorey (Hollister, CA) and freshman Seth Drake (Ramona, CA), earned the squad five points for their All-America, fourth-place finish. The group's time comes in as the fourth-fastest 4x100m relay in the program's tenure.
Both Blanchard and Green also took home individual top-eight performances for individual All-America honors in their respective events. Blanchard entered the 110m Hurdles final as the top competitor in the field, posting the fastest preliminary time. In the final heat, Blanchard crossed the white stripe in 14.48, a mere .08 seconds behind the victor Dan Davis of Washington University (MO). Blanchard broke the 14.5 barrier on three occasions and was ranked as the No. 1 110m hurdler throughout the 2011 season.
Green notched the program's fifth-fastest time in the 400m Dash, registering a 48.02 effort during the finals. In his third-fastest race of the year, Green also picked up three points for the squad en route to his All-America performance.
In additional news, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) member University of La Verne finished fifth overall with 33 points while Cal Lutheran University took eighth (26) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tied for 27th (10).
