Spearfish, South Dakota - NMHU sprinter
Ashley Barrett stamped herself as possible NCAA 60- meter national finalist with her win Saturday at the RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championship meet. The Cowgirl freshman took the conference short-sprint title in an eye-popping 7.34 seconds to jump up to #7 on the NCAA indoor performance list. Barret's mark set a new NMHU program record, bettering the 7.41 Shanna Thomas recorded back in 2016.
Barrett would come back later in the day to run away from a stellar 200-meter field and grab her second RMAC championship of the meet. Barret's time of 24.49 is #2 all-time on the Cowgirl indoor performance list trailing only 2013 NCAA champion Jillisa Grant (23.89). Barrett also broke the BHSU facility record (24.62) held by former HU assistant coach Kaymarie Jones (Adams St. /2013).
"Ashley was a force this weekend. Freshmen don't win RMAC sprint titles," said NMHU head Coach
Bob DeVries. "She has been diligent in her training and accepting of coaching. I am proud of the work she and coach Russell have done to put her on the top of the podium."
Patreece Clarke came into the RMAC meet with, in her words, "unfinished business" . After false-starting out of the 60-meter hurdle final at the 2023 indoor championship, Clarke was determined to make amends for last year's costly mistake. Saturday's final saw Clarke blast from the blocks and never look back, winning with a comfortable margin in 8.55 seconds.
The HU All American had no time to rest. As she did on day one, Clarke came back to race the 60-meter sprint final just 30 minutes later, placing 7th behind her champion teammate Barrett.
The fourth Cowgirl championship came in the 400 meters. Senior
Cemore Donald utilized her usual tactic of coming from behind to become the first ever RMAC indoor 400 champion in program history. Her time of 56.25 (adjusted for track size) will not likely be enough to get Donald into the NCAA championships, but does move her to #3 on HU's all-time list.
"The 200 and 400 are so tough on the Black Hills track," said DeVries. "It has longer straights and tighter turns than most indoor 200's. It really is difficult to run super fast times."
The Cowgirls went into the final event of the meet, the 4 x 400 relay, hoping to add a fifth RMAC title to the day's tally. When the Cowgirl's anticipated second-leg had to be pulled, the coaches called on Barrett to add yet another race to an exhausting weekend.
"Everyone knows I love the 4 x 400. We felt we had a team that could win even with the change," commented DeVries.
The HU quartet of
Nadine Rose, Donald, Barrett and
Lucia Harrison broke the track record, but were edged in the stretch by Colorado Mines. The team will now have to wait for Tuesday's announcement of NCAA championship selections.
Coach DeVries summarized the weekend, "I can't say enough about this group and how they performed. They went into the RMAC with nobody talking about them. They won championships, scored unexpected points and competed on a championship level because that is what we do when we put on that purple uniform and take on the best. It's become the HU way and I'm proud to be a part of it."
The Cowgirls will now await Tuesday's announcement of the NCAA Division II Championship qualifiers, who will continue their season on March 8th and 9th at the NCAA Division II Championships in Pittsburg, Kan.
Â
