GREENVILLE, IL – The Principia men's and women's track & field teams finished their outdoor season as a full squad on April 25th and 26th at the SLIAC Championship meet hosted by Greenville University. The Panther men finished third overall in the team standings with 109 points, while the Panther women finished second overall with 133 points. This team finish was a remarkable turnaround for the women's team, who finished 8th overall in 2024.
Principia ended the meet with eight individual champions, five second place finishes, and seven third place finishes. The women's team also continued a historic season of record-breaking performances. The 4x100 meter relay team of
Amarachi Ejimadu,
Ariana Williams,
Hannah Myers, and
Sana Udoekong set a new school record with a time of 48.52 seconds, smashing the previous record from 1992 (50.2). Myers then broke her own the school record in the long jump on her final attempt to win the event with a huge jump of 5.51 meters (18' 1"). Myers was also the champion in the high jump and took second place in the triple jump.
Sana Udoekong was the individual champion in the 100 meter dash (12.21, personal best) and 200 meter dash (24.84, meet record) in addition to anchoring the second place 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. With those performances, Udoekong swept the track awards on the women's side, earning Track Athlete of the Year and Track Freshman of the Year, just like she did during the indoor season.
Nana Koranteng took home two first place medals as the champion of the triple jump and the 400 meter dash.
Mark Fisher took the men's hammer throw title, while
Rex Heath earned his third consecutive conference title in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Other medals included
Myka Fenton earning second place in the women's 800 meters and
Jacob Warrick taking second in the javelin.
Amarachi Ejimadu finished third behind Udoekong in the 100 meter dash.
Zach Proctor and
Sophia Green each finished third in the 5K, while
Ariana Williams earned a bronze medal in high jump.
Mirsa Boyer took third place in pole vault, and
Marc-Quan Daniels earned two bronze medals in the discus and hammer throw.
Overall, the SLIAC outdoor championships capped an impressive season of progress for the Principia track and field program. The women scored 107 more points than they did at last year's conference meet, and the men scored 27 more points than last year. A select number of athletes will continue their season seeking qualification for the NCAA Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
