ELSAH, IL – The Principia College track & field team hosted the 2025 SLIAC Indoor Championsips on Saturday in the Crafton Athletic Center. Both the Panther men and women had strong showing as 15 Principia athletes earned medals and the teams each finished in the top three.
Panther freshman
Sana Udoekong continued her incredible first track season by winning both the 60 meter dash (7.78) and the 200 meter dash (25.76) in meet record time. Her 60m time was a new PR and just .05 seconds off the school record. Udoekong also ran the anchor leg of the women's 4x400m relay to solidify a second place finish behind Greenville in both the race and the overall standings. At the conclusion of the meet, she was voted by the coaches as both SLIAC Indoor Track Athlete and SLIAC Indoor Track Freshman of the Year. The SLIAC has only been holding indoor conference championship since 2020, but this is the first time a female athlete has won both these awards in the same year.
The only other event that a Principian won on the day was junior
Nana Koranteng in the men's triple jump (14.2 m). H4 had won conference events in the 800m and DMR in previous years, but this is his first victory in a field event. Aside from the triple jump victory, Koranteng also finished sixth in the long jump and anchored the men's 4x400m relay to a second place finish. He will now wait and see if he qualifies for nationals in the triple jump as he is still in the DIII top 20 in the event for the season.
Besides the aforementioned men's and women's 4x400m relays, Principia had athletes finish in second in seven other events. On the track, sophomore
Amarachi Ejimadu finished right behind her teammate Udoekong in the 60m with a personal best time of 7.92. The Principia men's distance medley team of
Zach Proctor,
Jonathan Keller,
Owen Hofman, and
Aaron Nutwell also took home the silver after a official error caused the race to be rerun at the end of the meet. In the field, juniors
Damilola Odunuga (1.83 m) and
Kiara Smith (1.52 m) each finished second in the men's and women's high jump with personal best leaps. The other two silver medals came from senior
Howard James in the men's long jump (6.99 m) and freshman
Madeleine Waters in the women's triple jump (PR of 10.55 m).
Three Panthers took home bronze medals with sophomore
Myka Fenton finishing third in the women's 800m (2:33.73), senior
Mirsa Boyer finishing third in the women's pole vault (PR of 2.73 m), and junior
Mark Fisher finishing third in the men's weight throw (12.61 m).
There were many other outstanding performances and personal records that didn't receive medals as the Principia track & field teams finished their indoor seasons strong. In the final standings, the women's team finished second behind Greenville with 86 points, while the men finished third behind Greenville and Webster with 83 points.
The outdoor season will begin with a spring break trip to Texas culminating in the team's first meet at Prairie View A&M on Friday, March 21.
