Sept. 11, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Eleven current and former NAIA track and field athletes recently competed in the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in Osaka, Japan.  The World Championships, which began Saturday, August 25, is a nine day event that featured more than 2,000 athletes from 203 countries.  Of the eleven athletes with ties to the NAIA, five represented the United States, four competed for the Bahamas, one represented Jamaica and one ran for Guatemala.

Derrick Atkins, Dickinson State University (2002-05) - Atkins a former Dickinson State (N.D.) athlete from Nassau, ran the 100-meters for the Bahamas and captured the silver medal at the World Championships.  He was a seven-time NAIA National Champion in sprints and helped guide Dickinson State to back-to-back national titles in 2004 and 2005, and a second place finish in 2003.  Atkins holds Dakota Athletic Conference records in the 200-meters and 55-meters.  In 2005, he was presented with the Special Achievement Award from the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, the group's highest honor.  Atkins is currently ranked third in the world in the 100 meters.

Allan Ayala, Dickinson State University (2006-Present) - Ayala is a current Dickinson State student-athlete who represented Guatemala in the 400-meter hurdles and crossed the finish line with time of :52.26.  He is a member of the Dickinson State 4x100 relay team that broke a school record (3:09:18).  Ayala is also a member of the 4x100 Guatemala National team that set a relay national record and won the 400-meter individual hurdles at Guatemala National Championship.  He was named the Dakota Athletic Conference Most Valuable Performer at the 2007 Outdoor Championships.

Trevor Barry, Dickinson State University (2003-2006) - Barry also a Dickinson State alumni who represented the Bahamas in the high jump.  He was an eight-time NAIA National Champion, competing in the high jump and long jump.  Barry helped lead Dickinson State to three consecutive team national titles and holds the conference records in the outdoor high jump and long jump, as well as conference records for indoor high jump and long jump.

Fernando Cabada, Virginia Intermont College (2004-06) - Cabada ran the marathon for the U.S. at the World Championships and finished 50th with a season-best time of 2:35.48.  He was a seven-time NAIA champion at Virginia Intermont and is currently ranked No. 9 in the world.

Bryan Clay, Azusa Pacific University (1999-02) - Bryan Clay, who attended Azusa Pacific (CA), ended 2000 ranked No.1 in the world in the decathlon, becoming the first American to earn that honor two years in a row since Dan O'Brien in 1995-96.  Clay was the 2005 World Outdoor champion and a two-time USA Outdoor champion (2004 and 2005).  He was also a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, 2004 World Indoor silver medalist, 2000 NAIA champion and a two-time NAIA long jump champion.  Clay was in third place in the decathlon before having to pull out of the event due to an injury of the quadriceps muscle in his right leg.

Tim Mack, Malone College (1991-92) - Former Malone College (OH) alumni represented the United States in the men's pole vault.  Mack won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games and was also the 2004 Olympic Trials champion.  He was the 2002 U.S. Indoor champ, the 2001 Goodwill Games gold medalist, and the 1995 NCAA Indoor champion.  Mack was a two-time NAIA All-American and was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2005.

Ramon Miller, Dickinson State University (2004-Present) - Miller is a current Dickinson State student-athlete who represented the Bahamas as part of the 4x100 relay team. Last season, he was part of the record breaking 4x100 relay team at Dickinson State that also featured Ayala.  Miller was also the 2007 NAIA Indoor National Champion in the 400-meters and set a new Dakota Athletic Conference 400-meter record (:46.79) in 2006.

Tim Seaman, University of Wisconsin-Parkside (1992-95) - Seaman represented the U.S. team in the race walk and placed 31^st in the 20 kilometer race walk, finishing in a time of 1:33.58. At Wisconsin-Parkside, he became the first four-time NAIA race walk champion in school history.  Professionally, Seaman is a two-time Olympian, five-time U.S. 20 km champion, ten-time U.S. Indoor champion, four-time U.S. 20 km runner-up, took third in the 20 km at the 2006 USA Outdoors and is the U.S. 20 km and 5,000m indoor record holder.  Seaman made history with his tenth consecutive career victory in the men's 5,000m race walk at the 2007 AT&T USA Indoor Championships in Boston.

Jennifer Stuczynski, Roberts Wesleyan (2002-05) - Stuczynski graduated from Roberts Wesleyan (NY) as one of the school's most decorated athletes.  She holds school records in the 100-meter hurdles, javelin, high jump, 400-meter hurdles, and was a member of record setting 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.  Stuczynski was the 2005 NAIA Indoor champion in pole vault.  Professionally, Stuczynski is a two-time USA Outdoor champion and a two-time USA Indoor champion in the pole vault.  Not only was she a spectacular track athlete, she was also a standout basketball player, averaging 24.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game during the 2003-04 season and lead Roberts Wesleyan to the national championship game.  She graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,819 career points.  She represented the United States in the women's pole vault where she placed tenth.

Donald Thomas, Lindenwood University (2006) - Thomas is a former Lindenwood (MO) student-athlete who represented his native Bahamas in the high jump.  Remarkably, Thomas started competing in the high jump just last year.  He was the gold in high jump at the World Championships with a jump of 7-08 ½ and qualified to be a member of the Bahamas Olympic team for the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Nickesha Wilson, Oklahoma Baptist (2005-06) - Wilson placed third in the 400 meter hurdles at the World Championships.  The Jamaican achieved her goal of running a personal best as she finished the event with a  time of 53.85.  Wilson started her career at Oklahoma Baptist, where she was the NAIA outdoor champion in the 400 meter hurdles in 2006.  She currently runs for the track team at LSU.

The World Championships ran through September 2.  For more information on the event and results, check out the website at www.osaka2007.jp.