OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 30, 2018) – Inarguably two of the greatest female athletes in Oklahoma Christian history,
McKenzie Stanford and
Layne Hammer put exclamation points on brilliant careers in 2018.
The track and field stars became OC's first two NCAA Division II All-Americans in their sport in March during the indoor season and Stanford went on to more All-America glory during the outdoor season, ranking as the No. 2 story in OC athletics for 2018.
A standout distance runner, Hammer owned six school records and multiple All-Region honors, but All-America status always had eluded her – until she ran the 5,000 meters at the Division II Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kan.
Running in her final collegiate race and seeded 17th in an 18-woman field, she overcame Achilles' tendon issues and finished 12th in 17:33.62 to earn All-America second-team honors in the event.
A few hours before, Stanford – already a basketball All-American, having received that honor after the 2015-16 season – became the first OC athlete of either gender ever to earn Division II All-America honors in two unrelated sports. The standout high jumper placed 12th with a top mark of 5 feet, 5¾ inches (1.67 meters), securing second-team recognition.
Stanford never had competed indoors until 2018 because of schedule conflicts with basketball. With her hoops eligibility exhausted, she was able to focus solely on track and field and the extra training showed, particularly during the outdoor season.
In just her second outdoor meet of 2018, the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational in Shawnee, Stanford shattered the school record in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 9¾ inches (1.78 meters). That mark automatically qualified her for the Division II Outdoor Championships in May and ranked fourth in Division II.
After successfully defending her Great American Conference title with a jump of 5 feet, 8 inches, Stanford headed to the national meet in Charlotte, N.C. She cleared 5 feet, 6 inches (1.68 meters) to tie for eighth in the 20-woman field, good enough to earn her All-America first-team honors. She was the first OC female track and field athlete to finish in the top eight – and thus score – at the Division II meet.
Stanford, who ranks third in Heartland Conference basketball history with 1,715 career points, is serving during the 2018-19 hoops season as a graduate assistant for the OC program.
