ALLENDALE, Mich. (May 29, 2021) – Verrell McBride posted the second-best time of his career at 200 meters on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, lifting the sprinter into rare air in Oklahoma Christian program history.

McBride, a sophomore from Norman, Okla., finished eighth in the title race at the Grand Valley State University Lacrosse/Track and Field Stadium with a time of 21.10 seconds. That earned him All-America first-team honors and made him only the second OC male track athlete ever to do so in an individual event at the Division II level.

McBride, a one-man team for OC at the national meet, also earned one team point, meaning the Eagles finished tied for 57th among the 71 teams who had at least one entry in the meet.

Running in lane eight on a nine-lane track, McBride – like everyone else – chased West Texas A&M's Benjamin Azamati, who won the race in 20.23 seconds, more than half a second ahead of the runner-up, Devon Moore of Carson-Newman (Tenn.), who finished in 20.79 seconds. Azamati set a Division II record of 20.13 seconds while winning the Lone Star Conference title earlier this month, a race in which McBride finished second in a career-best time of 20.96 seconds.

The top eight finishers in each individual event will be on the official All-America list (to be announced next week) and McBride grabbed the last spot on that list by holding off Marlin Davis of Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), who finished in 21.48 seconds.

In his preliminary heat race on Friday, McBride had finished in 21.27 seconds.

McBride is only the seventh male OC track athlete to earn a Division II All-America honor and joined Landon Huslig in being the only Eagles to do so in an individual event. Huslig earned three such individual honors, the most recent in 2018 when he won the national title in the 400-meter hurdles. OC began competing at the Division II level with the 2013 season but wasn't eligible for All-America honors until 2016.

McBride also is the fourth OC athlete in as many sports to earn an All-America honor in 2021, joining Josh Imhoff (men's bowling), Camilla Jarvela (women's golf) and Kali Crandall (softball). All-America teams for men's golf and baseball remain pending.