Langston junior Zach Beard made history at the NAIA indoor championships by setting a record for the fastest time in the 60-meter dash.
He ran a time of 6.61 seconds in the finals taking home the gold while also setting a new NAIA and Langston program record.
Beard’s time beats his previous best of 6.64 that he set in the preliminary round one day earlier, which was the fastest time of any runner in that session.
This is the fourth time this season Beard has ran a sub 6.7 60-meter dash time. The first time was in the JD Martin Invitational in January when he ran a 6.66 tying a then-school record.
The other time was in the Pittsburg State Invitational running 6.68 in the final finishing in third place.
Beard was joined in the finals by fellow junior Dion Collier, who ran the fifth-fastest time — 6.81 in the prelims — to advance to the finals. Collier just missed out on a medal in the finals running a 6.78, finishing fourth in the heat.
#LUTRK's Zach Beard is now an NAIA National Champion, All-American and the FASTEST runner EVER in the NAIA 60-Meter Dash!
📷@PrepRunningNerd#goLions #FeartheRoar pic.twitter.com/yd2G1MiZ6e
— Langston Athletics (@LangstonSports) March 5, 2022