JOHNSON CITY, TENN.. –- Brothers Tony and Tim Ramirez each broke NAIA records to highlight Azusa Pacific’s performance on the third and final day of the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championship. Tony’s record will stand in the books for time to come. Tony’s, though, is relegated to an asterisk, a footnote in history.

On the 10-year anniversary of Sheldon Edward’s (Oklahoma Baptist) record setting indoor 400 meters, Tony Ramirez broke the standard with a sizzling 47.31, besting Edward’s 1996 performance by .16 of a second. With the victory, Ramirez reclaims the NAIA indoor 400 title that he originally won as a 2004 freshman before finishing fifth last year. Tony’s feat was one of 4 men’s records set during Saturday’s competition.

Meanwhile, Tim, the senior, broke the NAIA indoor record in the 1000 meters by more than a second, clocking an impressive 2:23.54. However, sophomore Julius Rono of Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) edged Ramirez at the finish line, recording a 2:23.09 to etch his name into the record book.

The elder Ramirez had already put in a yeoman’s-like effort for the meet, and in the end he played a significant role in Azusa Pacific’s fourth-place finish, having a hand 22 of the Cougars’ 55.5 points. Lindenwood (Mo.) won it’s second straight men’s title with 94.5 points, while Virginia Intermont was second with 81, and Dickinson State (N.D.) was third at 68.

Tim ran the anchor legs on Azusa Pacific 4x800-meter and distance medley relays, both of which finished third with times of 7:34.63 (season-best) and 10:09.77, respectively.

In other men’s competition, seniors Matt Parish and Danny Reid added to their All-American collections. Parish was third in the 600 meters with a personal record 1:18.01, while Reid finished fourth in the 800 with a season-best 1:53.16.

Senior Brian Bernard, who back on Thursday won his second consecutive NAIA pentathlon title, came back today to finish fifth in the pole vault with his first-ever clearance of 16-feet, going 16' 0 3/4."

The Azusa Pacific women achieved their goal of a top 6 finish, tallying 26 points in the meet to finish sixth. Missouri Baptist put together a monster meet, tallying an NAIA record 172 points to not only run away from second-place Simon Fraser (92 points) but to capture its first-ever NAIA track championship.

Cougar juniors Lorraine Swaby and Sarah Jackson combined for 7 points in the 400 meters, finishing third and sixth respectively. Swaby ran a season-best 56.92, and Jackson came in at 58.48. The duo came back to close the meet by running legs on Azusa Pacific 4x400-meter relay that ripped off a season-best 3:50.69 to finish second, an impressive performance considering that their addition to the meet was a last-second decision.