Clayton State 4x400m Relay Team Named All-America at NCAA Division II National Championships
May 29, 2004
Walnut, Calif. - The Clayton College & State University 4x400m relay team placed sixth in finals of the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships Saturday in Walnut, CA, and in the process, became the school’s first men’s track & field athletes to receive All-America honors.
The relay team of senior Rother Heard (Conyers, Ga.), junior Carlos Guyton (Thomasville, Ga.), freshman Eric Simmons (Carrollton, Ga.) and freshman Brian Etelman (Marietta, Ga.) finished with a time of 3:13.05 at the meet held at Mt. San Antonio College.
“This has been an amazing season for our men’s team,” said Mead. “We went from having Tony (Juarez) being a provisional qualifier the previous two seasons to having a total of six guys make nationals this year and four being named All-America. “They have put our program on the map…we’ve made tremendous strides.”
St. Augustine’s won the race with a time of 3:05.61, followed by North Dakota State in second at 3:07.75. Abilene Christian finished third in front of N.C. Central and Texas A&M Commerce. The Laker team finished ahead of fellow Georgia schools Albany State and Morehouse. Central Missouri State placed ninth in the race.
The squad advanced to the finals on Saturday with the sixth best qualifying time on Friday of 3:13.04. The Lakers entered the national meet with the seventh fastest 4x 400m team in Division II. The top eight of the nine teams in the finals received All-America honors.
The Clayton State track squad was participating in the national meet for the third time in four years. Joni Guffey (Frankfort, Ky.) became the school’s first All-America in the 1500-meters in 2002.
