ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's track and field team finished in seventh place Saturday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, claiming another gold medal in the process.
 
The Lions had only three possible scoring events in the final day of the meet, and they collected 17 points in those events to finish with a total of 35 points.
 
The 4x100 meter relay team of Malcolm Woods (Sachse), J.T. Smith (Klein – Oak), Andre Norman (Celina), and Delan Edwin (St. Lucia) claimed the gold medal with a time of 39.69 seconds. They became the first relay team to win an NCAA outdoor championship for the Lions, as well as the first 4x100 meter (or equivalent) relay to win a national title in any division.
 
This is the Lions' 11th Division II outdoor event championship after Ushan Perera (Mahabage, Sri Lanka) won the high jump title Friday. The Lions now have 20 outdoor titles in all divisions and 26 overall event championships between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
The Lions took seven more points in the 100 meter dash, as Smith placed fifth at 10.42 seconds and Edwin placed sixth at 10.45 seconds. Outside of race winner Benjamin Azamati of West Texas A&M, eight one-hundredths of a second separated second and sixth.
 
Adding Saturday's placers to Perera's gold medal, and the silver medal discus performance from Josh Boateng (St. George's, Grenada), the Lions finished with 35 points.
 
The Lions held onto a top five position late into the meet, but dropped to seventh based on results in the final two events. Only two points separated fourth through seventh places.
 
The seventh place finish is the fourth-highest in program history and 35 points marks the fifth-highest point total at the Division II meet for the Lions. The Lions have finished in the top 10 nationally six times in 25 appearances at the meet.
 
TEAM STANDINGS

1	Grand Valley St.	76
2	West Texas A&M	55
3	Angelo St.	43
4	Ashland	37
	Pittsburg St.	37
6	Colorado School of Mines	36
7	A&M-COMMERCE	35
8	Missouri Southern	33
9	Tiffin	32
10	Southern Connecticut St.	25

 
A&M-COMMERCE RESULTS
GOLD MEDAL

Ushan Perera	High Jump	2.17m (7' 1 ½")
Malcolm Woods, J.T. Smith, Andre Norman, Delan Edwin	4x100 Meter Relay	39.69

 
SILVER MEDAL

Josh Boateng

Discus Throw

55.39m (181' 8")

 
FIFTH PLACE

J.T. Smith

100 Meter Dash

10.42

 
SIXTH PLACE

Delan Edwin

100 Meter Dash

10.45

 
NINTH PLACE

Micky Ferdinand

High Jump

2.00m (6' 6 ¾")

 
12TH PLACE

Nicodemus Rotich	3,000 Meter Steeplechase	9:37.02
J.T. Smith	200 Meter Dash	21.59