After winning the GAC Track & Field Championships a year ago, the SAU Muleriders enter this outdoor season as the favorite. The Lady Muleriders are tagged to finish third.
The Muleriders received four of the seven first-place votes to edged Oklahoma Baptist by a single point. They returns Karonce Higgins, who was the Most Valuable Athlete at the 2018 GAC Championships, as well as 400m winner Addison Ross and 110m hurdler winner Raymond Miller. Higgins won the long jump, 200m and was on two first-place relay teams.
Oklahoma Baptist got the remaining three first-place votes, finishing finished third in the balloting. Oklahoma Christian and Rogers State tied for fourth, while East Central was sixth and Southern Nazarene seventh.
The Lady Muleriders received 66 points, 11 ahead of fourth-place Oklahoma Christian and seven behind second-place Harding. Defending champions Oklahoma Baptist was first with 80 points and eight of 10 first-place votes. Rogers State rounded out the top five with 49 points, followed by East Central (36), Southern Nazarene (32), Northwestern Oklahoma State (26), Southwestern Oklahoma State (24), and Southeastern Oklahoma State (9).
Oklahoma Baptist will host the 2019 GAC Championships on April 18-20 in Shawnee, Okla.
On today and Saturday, SAU will compete in Memphis at the Rhodes College Invitational.