MARION, Ind. - Last spring, former sprinter and jumper Chris Johnson picked up a discus for the first time as a college athlete. On Thursday, he competed among the nation's top 30 throwers at the 2024 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University. It was the first time Stillman College had an athlete compete in the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship, restoring an annual tradition for the program that regularly qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship through until the program was suspended in May 2016. 

"It was a great experience to see Chris go out and compete at the highest level in the NAIA," said Ashley Curry, Stillman head track coach. "This was truly a learning experience for him. I look forward to a productive off season. We aim for greatness, so we have unfinished business." 

Johnson, a sophomore from Meridian, Mississippi, was the first thrower in the third flight Thursday. Each flight had 10 qualifiers. His first throw soared 45.81 meters, good for 13th in the meet at the time. However, Johnson was not able to get his full power behind him, throwing 42.39m and 44.27m in his next two throws to slide to 21st. He needed a throw better than 49.34 to reach the finals. 

Despite the finish, Johnson, who entered the championship as the No. 10 seed at 50.63m, was pleased to be the first Stillman athlete to compete at the NAIA championship in a track & field event. 

"It felt good to be able to go out there to compete with the best and get the feel of performing on the NAIA national level," said Johnson. "I'm ready to get to work this off season and work hard, get consistent, and get ready for next year and go compete again. I had a great year overall, but we will get better for next year. There's unfinished business."

The top three finishers were local to the Central Indiana, with Marian University's Christian Rios throwing 54.05m to win the national title. Indiana Wesleyan's Dan Heining was second at 53.86m and Marian's Isaiah Tipping threw 53.38m. Southern States Athletic Conference champion Joseph Wager of WIlliam Carey University threw 50.32m and finished fifth behind Columbia International's Deandre Leith's 51.09m. Olivet Nazarene's Daniel DeRamus (50.20m), British Columbia's William Kizell (50.00m) and Central Methodist's Colder Evans (49.96m) rounded out the Top 8.