The 1997 Howard Payne University men’s 4x100m relay team accomplished something that no other HPU track relay had ever done – a national championship in a single track event.
Marty Van Dyke, Wilmer Ray, JJ Davis and Sedrick Medlock ran 40.57 in the 1997 NCAA Championships to claim that HPU first. The four runners a year later broke the stadium record at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., with a 40.43 in the prelims of the 1998 NCAA Division III National Championships. That time remains in the top 10 best ever run at the Division III Championships. Van Dyke was an eight-time All-American, 13-time indoor and outdoor national qualifier and took third place in the 55 meters at the indoor national championships. He also was a member of HPU’s 1999 4x100 relay National Championship team. Wilmer Ray is a six-time All-American, 10-time national qualifier in indoor and outdoor championships and ran to second in the 55-meters at the 1997 indoor national championships. He set the school record of 10.24 in the 100 meters in 1997 and was also named an All-American defensive back in 1996 for the Yellow Jackets football team. JJ Davis is a five-time track All-American and a four-time national qualifier in the 400 and 200 meters and 4X100 and 4X400 meters relays. Sedrick Medlock is a two-time All-American and a four-time national track qualifier. He also was a two-time First Team All-American defensive back for the Yellow Jacket football team that played in the Aztec Bowl