Halterman Smashes NAIA Record at Seminole Invite

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jaynie Halterman reset the NAIA record in a 6k race on Friday morning, demolishing the record she set a year ago in the NAIA National Championship by 20 seconds with a blazing time of 20:04.7.

The incredible sophomore reset the program record for the fourth time in her young career, while resetting the NAIA record for a second time. Halterman finished fourth against a meet comprised of mostly NCAA Division I squads, crossing the line behind a pair of LSU runners and an athlete from Florida State.

Competing at the course where the NAIA National Championships will take place in November, the Trojans carded a seventh-place finish among the ultra-competitive field with a team score of 197. Even more impressive is the fact TU had the fourth-best team time at 1:50:42.5, which was the fifth-fastest team time in program history.

The top seven Trojan runners finished in the top 80 out of 351 athletes and the team time trailed only LSU, Georgia, and Florida State, each of which have NCAA Regional Championship aspirations. Taylor was well ahead of fellow NAIA No. 10 SCAD Savannah, who finished in 13th, with 410 points and a team tim over five miuntes slower.  

Following Halterman for TU was Sam Patterson in 23rd with a time of 22:04.3. Malarie Pinwar and Catey Campbell crossed the finish line next in 49th and 58th respectively, both recording times under 23:00. Completing the scoring for the Trojans was Rebekah Firestone in 67th, with a time of 22:59.2, just a tenth of a second ahead of Emersyn Funk.   

Marlina Howell clocked a PR, finishing in 23:46.2 to surpass her previous best by four seconds, while Elizabeth Erwin made her collegiate debut with a time of 24:55.1. 

No. 1 Taylor (46-6) travels back up north to host the Ray Bullock Invitational on Friday, October 10 at 4:00 pm in its next competition.