HILLSBORO, Kan. - Tabor College Track and Field sophomore Samantha VanRanken (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) earned All-American honors and set a new school record in the javelin at the NAIA National Track and Field Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University at the Outdoor Sports Complex in Marion, Ind.

VanRanken earned All-American honors with a throw of 140'11" as she finished in sixth place overall. Along with VanRanken 10 other Bluejay track and field athletes competed at the national meet including seniors Kelli Kopper (Cimarron, Kan.), Andrea Batista (Hagerman, N.M.), Chelsea Malone (Ellinwood, Kan.), Jessica Burden (Little Elm, Texas), and Christina Addison (Valley Center, Kan.).

"The athletes that represented Tabor at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships competed very well and many of them saved the best for last," said Head Track and Field Coach Dave Kroeker.

Malone also competed well in the javelin as she finished in 16^th place out of 31 competitors with her best throw coming in at 126'. Addison completed the marathon course in 3:24:19.10, good enough to finish 11th out of 32 competitors, while Kopper competed in the 400 meters running a 59.10 in the quarter finals.

Three freshmen also competed in their first national outdoor meet including Tynan Honn (Buhler, Kan.) who nearly broke the school record in the shot put with a personal record throw of 42' 1.25", finishing 19th out of 32 competitors. Fellow freshmen Emily Post (Wray, Colo.) and Ryan Chippeaux (Wichita, Kan.) also competed at the national meet. Post finished 20^th out of 26 competitors with a triple jump of 37' while Chippeaux tied for 14^th out of 24 competitors with a high jump of 6' 5".

Both women's relay teams ran their fasted times of the year. The 4 x 100 meter relay team of Burden, Batista, Kopper, and sophomore Kayla Gershon (Littleton, Colo.) ran a season best time of 48.57. The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Burden, Batista, Kopper, and junior Tessa Siebert (Henderson, Neb.) ran a season best time of 3:59.54.

"Overall, we just had a terrific meet," said Kroeker. "The competitive level is so high at nationals that just being here was a huge accomplishment. The seniors here really went out in style with great effort and several season best performances.

"Looking to next year, we had a number of underclassmen at nationals and they will only get better," added Kroeker. "We do have some big shoes to fill for next year with the number of seniors that graduated, but that's the nature of college sports."