The Charger track and field team were in action at the GPAC Indoor Championships in Crete, Nebraska Saturday. Ben Jefferies took home a pair of first-place finishes along with breaking the meet record in the 400.

"On the men's side, I was happy with how we placed not being full strength," said head coach Scott Barnes. "Staying in the middle of the pack was good for consistency, we know come outdoor we need to do a better job of staying healthy. We also missed in a few events that we should of scored better in but with that being said we batted tough."

Jefferies defended his 400-meter dash title, setting a new GPAC Championship meet record with a time of 47.99s. He broke the previous record of 48.17, which he set in last year's championship meet. He finished 1.36 seconds faster than second place. Jefferies adjusted 400-meter time is good for second fastest in the NAIA at 47.24.

Jefferies also took first in the 200-meter dash running a time of 21.87 and has already hit the NAIA 'A' standard in both events. Jefferies has now won the GPAC Championship in the 400-meter three years in a row and two straight years in the 200-meter dash.

Ryan Kotey, Osiel Ochoa, and Paxon Fleming placed 10th, 14th, and 15th respectively in the 400-meter dash.

Dominic Archer placed fourth in 60-meter dash finals running in 7.01s. Jefferies placed sixth running in 7.05 while Kotey finished eighth at 7.14. Jefferies hit the NAIA 'B' standard in the 60m prelims with a 6.93.

Robert Amaro finished fourth in the 800-meter with a time of 2:01.01.

Brynden Kinnaman placed 12th in the shotput with a throw of 13.25m.  Paxon Fleming placed 10th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.57 seconds. 

"Our women's team did some great things and moved us up in the standings," said Barnes. "I'm very proud of Isabel this season with what she did for us in the triple jump. Hope had a very solid day to give us points as well!" 

Hope Wagner finished fifth in the shotput, with her throw of 12.83m. Isabel Sayler finished sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 10.51m.

Kiana Vereen and Jasmine Joseph both participated in the 60-meter dash, finishing with times of 8.18 and 8.28 seconds respectively. 

The official qualifier list for the NAIA Championship Meet will be released in the coming days. The meet will take being on March 3 in Brookings, South Dakota.