Nat Sawyer and Shevaughn Allen Earn All-America Honors at NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
Buffalo State Sports Information Department
BIRMINGHAM, AL – Nat Sawyer (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont) and Shevaughn Allen (Buffalo, NY/JFK) both secured First Team All-America honors on the final day of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, AL. Sawyer bested the school record that she broke yesterday in the 400-meter dash, finishing in fifth place with a time of 55.96 seconds that also broke the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) record. Allen finished seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 14.83 meters.
Just as she had done yesterday, Sawyer ran a split on the final 200 meters of the race that was the fastest time of any of the competitors, closing in 29.28 seconds to make up ground in her heat and in the overall standings. She began the final lap in fourth place in her heat, but quickly overtook a pair of racers entering the final turn. Rochester's Susan Bansbach was just barely able to hold off Sawyer at the finish line, and the pair had to watch as the second heat took the three fastest times of the event just minutes later. Sawyer's fifth-place finish earned four points for Buffalo State.
Entering into the competition as part of Flight 2, Allen needed a mark of over 14.61 meters to advance to the finals as one of the top nine jumpers. After fouling on his first two attempts, Allen launched himself 14.83 meters to qualify in a tie for fifth place. In the championship round, he was unable to land a better jump than his qualifying mark, and finished in seventh place to earn two points for Buffalo State.
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISH: T-37th (Four points)
MEN'S TEAM FINISH: T-59th (Two points)
