PITTSBURG, Kan. — Redshirt senior Johnathon Harper (Lorena. Texas) was crowned NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field heptathlon champion on Saturday at the Robert W. Plaster Center. Harper totaled 5,751 while representing the Texas A&M-Kingsville track and field program at the national championships, setting a new school and conference record, as well as the third-best all-time total in the heptathlon. 
 
"Today was a great day," said coach Ryan Dall."John Harper had his best day as a collegiate athlete and I'm very proud of him. Winning a national championship is extremely difficult and it's especially the multi because of the number of events you have to do. He really deserves that win after all the years of hard work and going through COVID having the 2020 indoor meet cancelled the night before. I always thought he would have won that one so I'm glad he was able to get this win."

Harper entered day two, holding a score of 3,052 and in fourth-place thanks to solid performances in the 60m and shot put portions of the competition. He wasted no time climbing the leader board on Saturday, posting a lightning-quick time of 7.94 in the 60m hurdles that serves as a new personal best. Additionally, he finished atop the leader board in that event, picking up 997 points that pushed him into third overall. 
 
Later, in the pole vault, Harper leapfrogged a pair of heptathletes from Pittsburg State and Central Missouri, climbing into first after clearing a bar of 4.95m (16-2.75) that represented another individual best for the Lorena, Texas native. He tacked on 895 points thanks to his abilities in the vault, bringing his total to 4,944, which provided him an 88 point edge heading into the final event. 
 
He paced himself to a time of 2:46.09 for 807 points in the 1000m, cementing his spot atop the podium as the new national champion, as well as the third-best heptathlete to ever compete at a Division II school. Harper finished 63 points ahead of the second-place finisher, while tasting victory for the first time as an indoor track and field athlete after ending the 2021 season as the runner-up. 
 
The men's 4x400m relay showed out as well, with sophomore Sterling Riles (Houston, Texas), classmate Michael Samihamba (Dallas, Texas), redshirt senior Joseph Swierc (Falls City, Texas), and sophomore Bryson Dyer (New Braunfels, Texas) earning seventh-place for their time of 3:13.46 in the relay. This marked the first trip to the indoor championships for each of them, as they bested A&M-Commerce, American International, and Southern Connecticut State to win their heat and claim First-Team All-America honors. 

"The 4x4 guys also were great," Dall continued. " They really came on through the season and put it all together the last few weeks. I'm especially excited for Joseph Swierc running his last meet of his career here. He has worked very hard to get where he's at and we couldn't have scripted a better ending for him. Michael, Sterling and Bryson all came on strong this season and out in a lot of hard work to get here and become All Americans. I couldn't be happier for them."
 
The men's team finished in 20th, with Harper earning 10 points for his first-place finish, while the relay crew tacked on two for finishing seventh. 
 
The champion for the men was Grand Valley State, who scored 66, while Ashland took second with 49 and host-school Pittsburg State finished third at 47. 
 
Minnesota State was finished atop the women's leader board, scoring 58, with Grand Valley State second at 51. There was a tie for third as both Azusa Pacific and Lone Star Conference competitor West Texas A&M each scored 40.

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