CANYON, Texas (May 8, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian's Dylan Burrows won the 800-meter title and Verrell McBride posted NCAA Division II provisional qualifying times in two sprint events on Saturday, leading the Eagles to a fifth-place finish in the Lone Star Conference Outdoor Championships.

OC steadily moved up the team standings and finished with 51 points, in the upper half of the 11-team field. Running on its home track, West Texas A&M won the title with 212 points.

Fifteen of the Eagles' points came from the 800 meters. Burrows, a sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, became the first OC track and field athlete (male or female) to win a LSC title in any event during the program's two seasons in the conference. He outdueled Jared Gilley of Dallas Baptist in the final moments to win in 1:55.03, with Gilley second in 1:55.40.

OC had two other top-eight finishers in the race – senior Brady Aderholt of Vernon, Texas (fifth in 1:58.45) and sophomore Ethan Anthony of Mornington, Australia (eighth in 2:05.95).

McBride, a junior from Norman, Okla., was the Eagles' other top performer on the day. He finished eighth in the 100 meters in 10.57 seconds to earn one team point and match the Division II qualifying standard, but saved his best effort for the 200 meters.

McBride earned eight team points, finishing a strong second with a time of 20.96 seconds, trailing only one of Division II's top sprinters, Benjamin Azamati of West Texas A&M, who set a Division II record with a time of 20.13 seconds. McBride's time ranked as the seventh-best in Division II this season and likely secured him a spot in the Division II Outdoor Championships later this month in Allendale, Mich.

OC also had multiple scorers in the 1,500 meters. Owen Pearce, a sophomore from Kingman, Kan., finished fourth among 19 men with a time of 4:04.97, with Anthony eighth in 4:12.85. Junior Jelte van Atten of Leiden, Netherlands, placed 13th in 4:16.26.

Distance runner Colten Brown, a sophomore from Boise City, Okla., picked up two team points by finishing seventh among 22 men in the 5,000 meters in 15:28.97. Senior Colton Meyers of Allen, Texas, who ran in the meet's 10,000-meter race early Saturday morning, doubled in the 5,000 and placed 13^th in 16:00.28.

OC also earned points in the meet's final event, the 4x400-meter relay, with the quartet of freshman Camden Miller of Sand Springs, Okla., Burrows, Aderholt and McBride placing seventh in 3:21.15.

Three field-event performers scored points for the Eagles. Freshman Chaney Martin of West Plains, Mo., a day after finishing fourth in the decathlon, returned to place sixth in the pole vault with a top mark of 14 feet, 5½ inches (4.41 meters).

Junior Jonathan Olsson of Emporia, Kan., took sixth in the javelin with a throw of 171 feet, 7 inches (52.31 meters) and freshman Alex Samples of Edmond placed seventh in the high jump at 6 feet, 5 inches (1.96 meters).

The Eagles might compete next week in a last-chance meet, with the site and dates to be determined.