Jackets have strong showing at Southeastern’s Fire Open
March 14, 2026

Jackets have strong showing at Southeastern’s Fire Open

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Defiance Yellow Jackets men's and women's track teams each had noteworthy performances at Southeastern University's Fire Open to kick off the outdoor track and field seasons on Friday and Saturday.

The men's team had three event victories and finished sixth among 14 teams. Xavier Wilson captured the 100 and 200-meter dash wins. His 10.72 100-meter dash was fifth-best in program history while his 200-meter victory over a field of 51 runners set a new program record at 21.40. Jesse Brown was victorious in his outdoor high jump debut, leaping 2.05 meters for the third-best performance in school history. Another program record fell when the 4x100 relay team of J'Vontae Barnes, Marcus Snell, Jajuan Hall and Xavier Wilson ran a 42.28-second race and for a second-place finish.

The women's team placed 7th among 14 programs. Kanaya Keister finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 10.92 meters in her outdoor debut to highlight the women's field events. Amira Knight was sixth in the high jump while Israa Khamis took fifth in the 400-meter hurdles and sixth in the 110-meter hurdles. DC garnered additional points by placing sixth and seventh in the 400 meters with strong runs by Zawadi Debola and Shelby Clements. Rakel Thompson captured a pair of eighth-place runs in the 100 and 200 meters to also snag points for the Jackets.

Multiple Yellow Jackets hit personal bests during the meet. Rakel Thompson and Amira Knight ran personal bests in the 200 meters while Shelby Clements did so in the 400 meters. In field events, Knight logged a PR in the long jump and Lynsey Pease had her best career throw in the discus. For the men's team, Marcus Snell logged a personal best in the 200 meters.

WOMEN'S TRACK RESULTS

  • 100 meters: Rakel Thompson, 12.70 (8th), Daveih Rogers, 13.60 (11th)
  • 200 meters: Rakel Thompson, 26.08* (8th), Daveih Rogers, 27.90 (16th), Shelby Clements, 28.00* (17th), Amira Knight, 29.12* (24th)
  • 400 meters: Zawadi Debola, 1:03.14 (6th), Shelby Clements, 1:03.28* (7th)
  • 110 meter hurdles: Israa Khamis, 16.40 (6th)
  • 400 meter hurdles: Israa Khamis, 1:09.41 (5th)

WOMEN'S FIELD RESULTS

  • Long Jump: Amira Knight, 4.77m* (6th)
  • Discus: Kanaya Keister, 27.80m (8th), Lynsey Pease, 24.78m* (10th), Chloe DeBoer, 23.05m (11th)
  • Shot Put: Kanaya Keister, 10.92m (4th), Lynsey Pease, 8.40m (10th), Chloe DeBoer, 6.67m (13th)

MEN'S TRACK RESULTS

MEN'S FIELD RESULTS

*Denotes PR
# Denotes School Record

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets trravel next to Emory University next weekend for a Friday and Saturday meet in Atlanta, Ga.

-JACKETS-