5/28/2019 | Track & Field
NEW ORLEANS – After the completion of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships over the weekend, five members of the Eastern New Mexico track and field team were selected to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-American Team on Tuesday.
The women’s 4×100-meter relay team of Kandice Miles, Maijah Mathis, Danee Bustos and Lateria Slaughter earned First Team All-American accolades after coming away with fifth place at the NCAA Championships in Kingsville, Texas on May 25.
Miles was also a recipient of Second Team All-American honors in the 200-meter dash with a ninth place finish in the championship prelims while Ivar Moinat was also selected to the Second Team after crossing the finish line in 12th during the men’s 800-meter prelims.
The ENMU relay squad put together the best finish ever by any relay team in the history of the Greyhounds track and field program when they crossed the finish line in 46.68, placing ahead of Grand Valley State, Southern Wesleyan, and St. Augustine’s for the top five spot in the championship heat. The Hounds qualified for the final when they turned in the seventh-best time with a 46.82 through the windy south Texas conditions during the prelims on May 23.
It was the second time in their Greyhound careers that that Bustos, Mathis, Miles, and Slaughter earned USTFCCCA First Team All-American honors as a relay team as the squad were also All-Americans last year after coming away with eighth at the 2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in Charlotte, N.C.
For Bustos, the lone senior sprinter on the squad, the run capped off an incredible Greyhounds career as she became one of the first two women’s runners in the history of the ENMU track and field program to become a three-time USTFCCCA All-American. In her career, Bustos earned two First Team All-American accolades in the 4×100-meter relay as well as a Second Team All-American honor in the indoor 200-meter during the 2018 season. On top of three All-American awards, Bustos wraps up her career as a seven-time USTFCCCA All-South Central Region recipient and holds four ENMU track and field records, including: the outdoor 400-meter (55.56), the outdoor 4×100-meter relay (45.56), the indoor 200-meter (24.40), and the indoor 4×400-meter relay (3:54.92).
The other to achieve the same feat in the same meet was Miles. The Houston native put together her best individual run at the NCAA Championships in the 200-meter when she recorded the ninth-fastest time during the prelims with a 24.38. Miles narrowly missed the championship cut as she was 0.01 seconds back of finishing in the top eight. The junior sprinter saw some strong improvement in her second outdoor championship meet as she also competed in the 200-meter event in last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships, coming away with 14th with a time of 24.52. During the 2019 outdoor season, Miles earned three All-Region honors and was an All-Lone Star Conference First Team performer while setting the ENMU record in the 200-meter with a time of 23.87. Miles was also a part of two record relay teams with the 4×100-meter relay team breaking the record at the LSC Championships with a 45.56 as well as the 4×400-meter relay squad that broke the program record with a 3:54.65 at the West Texas A&M Invitational.
In becoming just one of two Greyhounds to ever compete in three events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Mathis earned her second career All-American hardware in the 4×100-meter relay. Along with Miles, the junior sprinter qualified and competed in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4×100-meter relay at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Wellington, Fla. product wrapped up a successful outdoor campaign that included three All-Region accolades, an All-LSC Second Team honor, and three program-record breaking performances. On top of being a part of the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter record-holding teams, Mathis turned in the fastest 100-meter time in ENMU history at the WTAMU Invitational with an 11.71.
The final member of the 4×100-meter relay team to garner an All-American honor was Slaughter. The junior sprinter from Lubbock, Texas closed out her 2019 outdoor season with her second All-American honor in as many years on-top of the record-setting performance in the 4×100-meter during the LSC Outdoor Championships.
On the men’s side, Moinat came away with his second All-American accolade of 2019 in the 800-meter event. The Amsterdam, Netherlands native wrapped up the outdoor season with a 12th place time of 1:54.50 during the championship prelims to garner USTFCCCA Second Team honors. The junior middle distance runner qualified for the national meet after running the 17th fastest time in Division II and the second-fastest time in ENMU history with a 1:51.03 at the West Texas A&M Classic & Multi on Apr. 6. Moinat’s phenomenal outdoor season included earning All-LSC Second Team honors with a second place finish at the LSC Outdoor Championships as well as a third place finish in the prestigious Drake Relays. Moinat was also an All-American during the indoor season, racking up First Team accolades for his seventh place finish at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kan. on Mar. 9.
