BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – No one was within 10 meters of Khaniya Higginbotham on Saturday as she crossed the finish line in a record-setting 58.32 seconds to capture the win in the 400 meters at the ONU Outdoor Open hosted by Olivet Nazarene.
The senior won the race by nearly two full seconds while setting the Roosevelt school record, one of four that fell at the event. Higginbotham also ran the anchor leg on the 4x100-meter relay team that set a school record of 50.23 seconds to finish in third place. Heaven Adams and Kennilyn Alexander started the relay with the first two legs before passing the baton to Rebecca Simpkins and Higginbotham for the closing stretch.
Elsewhere on the women's side, Lainey Canan took home fourth place in the javelin throw with a 24.25-meter toss. The Lakers also had a pair of top-seven finishers in the high jump with Millicent Ghapson placing fifth at 1.37 meters and Alexander finishing seventh at 1.32 meters.
The men's 4x100-meter relay team also set a new benchmark for the program with a fourth-place finish in a time of 42.57 seconds. Joaquin Lopez ran the opening leg followed by Javaris Jones, Zayre Uche and Tyrin Stewart on the anchor leg. Stewart took ninth in the 200 meters later in the meet while Jones ran a season-best 50.96 seconds in the 400 to place seventh.
Uche finished second in the triple jump with a team-record leap of 13.71 meters, falling four inches shy of winning the event.