Fort Worth, Texas – Wayland Baptist needed a big finish in the last event of the day to claim their first Sooner Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship Saturday afternoon at Karen Kramer Stadium on the campus of Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Pioneers placed second in the 4x400-meter relay to give them the title with 152 points as they inched out Texas Wesleyan, who placed third in the last event of the day, as the Rams scored 147 points. Nelson finished the championship in third place with 134 points, while Langston claimed the fourth spot with 88 points. Panhandle State completed the top five in the team race with 71 points.

Wayland Baptist  Head Coach Toby Kirk earned the conference Coach of the Year award after leading the Pioneers to the championship after taking over the program earlier this season.

Dontrell Blacknall of Nelson earned his third consecutive Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet after scoring a championship high 42 points for the Lions. Blacknall won the Decathlon with 5,780 points and then won the Pole Vault with a jump of 4.51m. Blacknall then placed second in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.28. Blacknall continued his outstanding meet in the field events with a third-place finish in the High Jump with a leap of 1.94m, a fourth-place result in the Javelin with a toss of 47.48m, and he rounded out his weekend with a sixth-place finish in the Triple Jump with a leap of 13.43m.

All-Conference Honors for all of the events completed this weekend will be announced on Wednesday, April 30, at 2 p.m.