BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams took their final tune up before the 2024 NJCAA Division I National Championships Friday evening, heading up to Bloomington to take part in the Billy Hayes Invitational hosted by Indiana University.
The Blazers again found themselves in a stacked field of NCAA Division I athletes and more than held their own.
The VU men’s team was led by the Trailblazer relay teams, winning the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:11.36 and taking second place in the 4x100 relay with a time of 40.67 seconds.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The number of National qualifiers continues to rise for the Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams as the Blazers had another good weekend at two separate meets.
The distance runners for the VU Trailblazers headed up north earlier this week to take part in the GVSU Extra Weekend meet at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. Thursday evening.
The men’s distance crew was led by sophomore Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) who headed a group of VU runners in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.22, good for fourth overall.
MARION, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams put together another great weekend at the 2024 Indiana Little State Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University.
The busy weekend actually got started on Thursday when VU sophomore and 2024 Indoor Heptathlon National Champion Olegs Kozjakovs made the short trip up to Terre Haute to take part in a two-day Decathlon at the 2024 Gibson Invitational.
Kozjakovs had a great showing in the events, competing against NCAA Division I athletes, taking the top spot in the shot put, discus and pole vault events to claim the top spot in the Decathlon with a total of 6,778 points.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Track and Field teams were back in action Friday at the 2024 Jim Vargo Invitational hosted by Bellarmine University in Louisville.
The VU throwers stole the show for the Blue and Gold at Friday’s meet, led by sophomore Madison Davis who had the best finish of the meet by taking second place in the shot put with a throw of 12.17 meters.
Davis also completed the daily double by taking 15th overall in the discus with a best throw of 31.13 meters.
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams headed outside for the first time this season and split the squad between two different meets.
Members of the VU Track team headed to St. Louis, Mo. to take part in the WashU Distance Carnival hosted by Washington University of St. Louis Friday, while the rest of the VU Track teams headed to Charleston, Ill. for the two-day EIU Big Blue Invitational hosted by Eastern Illinois University Friday and Saturday.
The WashU Distance Carnival crew was headed by sophomore Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) who placed eighth in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:53.43.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Track and Field teams had another outstanding showing Friday and Saturday at the 2024 NJCAA Indoor National Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
VU freshman pole vaulter Sophia Amaral got things started on Friday by winning the pole vault National Championship by clearing a height of 4.01 meters.
Sophomore Desroy Jordan picked up the second National Title for the Trailblazers Saturday in the 600 meter dash, qualifying Friday with a time of 1:18.44 before coming back even faster Saturday with a time of 1:17.31.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Indoor Track and Field teams closed out the 2024 Indoor regular season Saturday at the Indiana State University Open in Terre Haute.
VU pole vaulters, sophomore Olegs Kozjakovs and freshman Sophia Armaral stole the show for the Trailblazer teams, with Kozjakovs placing second after clearing a height of 4.81 meters and Armaral taking the top spot on the women’s side with a mark of 4.01 meters.
Sophia’s sister and 2023 Indoor Pole Vault National Champion sophomore Julia Armaral also had a good showing, placing ninth with a best of 3.26 meters.
ALLENDALE, Mich. – VU sophomore sprinter Desroy Jordan has already earned several spots in the Trailblazers Track and Field record books, now holding five school records after setting a program best time in the 600 meters Friday at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Michigan.
Jordan was a member of the Indoor 4x800 and DMR relay teams that set school records last year and set two individual school records during the 2023 Outdoor season in the 200 meters and 400 meters.
Jordan’s performance was a highlight of a very busy weekend which saw the Blazers add four more National qualifiers.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. and Marion, Ind. – The Vincennes University Indoor Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams decided to adopt a strategy of divide and conquer this past weekend, with men’s sprinters and field athletes heading to Louisville for the PNC Bellarmine Classic Friday and men’s and women’s distance runners taking part in the Indiana Wesleyan University Midwest Classic in Marion on Saturday.
The Trailblazers added more National qualifiers over the weekend and look to be really close to adding a few more as the Indoor season continues.
Friday, members of the VU men’s team headed back to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the PNC Bellarmine
Classic and once again found some very tough competition, competing against 16 NCAA Division I programs.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams once again found themselves as one of the only two-year programs competing in a meet this weekend, heading to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the 2024 PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational hosted by the University of Louisville.
The Blazers were up against several NCAA Division I programs, including athletes from Purdue University, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, Florida State University, Texas Tech University and host University of Louisville.
Tough competition aside, the Trailblazers again more than held their own highlighted by five top-10 event finishes.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field teams had an opportunity Saturday to take part in the first track and field competition at the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
VU once again faced off against a loaded field of NCAA Division I athletes, including athletes from Western Michigan University, SIU-Edwardsville, Valparaiso, IUPUI and host Butler.
The Trailblazers more than held their own against this high level competition, coming away with two event victories and four NJCAA National Qualifiers.
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Track and Field teams hit the track for the first time in the 2024 Indoor season Saturday, competing in the John Craft Invite hosted by Eastern Illinois University.
The Trailblazers were competing against several NCAA Division I programs and were able to come away with five event victories on the day.
The VU men’s team was led by two, one-two finishes on the track, starting with freshmen Tumani Skinner and Olamipo Ladipo in the 200 meters with Skinner taking the top spot at 23 seconds and Ladipo crossing at 23.18 seconds.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced their 2022-23 All-Academic Teams Monday morning and the list of over 10,000 student-athletes featured 21 Vincennes University Trailblazers.
VU had six student-athletes named to the All-Academic First Team, earning a GPA of 4.00 during the 2022-23 academic year. Eight student-athletes were named to the Second Team with a GPA between 3.80 and 3.99 and seven named to the Third Team with a GPA between 3.60 and 3.79.
Vincennes University and the VU Athletic Department are proud of the hard work and dedication these student-athletes have shown not only on the competition field, but in the classroom as well.
Hobbs, N. M. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field season came to an end this past weekend with the teams heading to New Mexico Junior College for the 2023 NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.
The three-day meet got underway Thursday afternoon with the VU pole vaulters first up for the Blue and Gold.
Freshmen Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira (Brazil) and 2023 Indoor National Champion Julia Do Amaral Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) got the meet started for VU strong by tying for fifth place after clearing a height of 3.27 meters.
VINCENNES, Ind. – 30 Vincennes University student athletes were recognized Friday morning with the release of the Vincennes University Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 semester.
To be recognized on this list, each student must be enrolled in at least 21 credit hours and earn a grade point average of 3.50 or high during the Spring semester.
The Vincennes University Athletic Department is proud to recognize the following student-athletes named to the Spring 2023 Dean’s List.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field program will be celebrating not just one induction into the NJCAA Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame this weekend, but two with three-time NJCAA National Champion pole vaulter Matteo Capello (Turino, Italy) along with former VU Assistant Coach Tim Marsee.
“It is an honor and an incredible personal achievement to be included, alongside my coach, into the NJCAA Track and Field Hall of Fame,” Capello said. “To me, it represents the culmination of a fantastic experience which makes me very proud. I am also grateful to be able to leave a footprint that will last behind me. It marks the consolidation of an amazing chapter of my life.”
“Coach Marsee is a great man,” Capello added. “We connected right away and never had problems working together. He helped me achieve a long awaited personal best and made the years spent at Vincennes University special and unforgettable. He is for sure one of the people that helped me the most. The trust he put in me helped me to give it my all and even more. I consider him family.”
VINCENNES, Ind. – The NJCAA Track and Field Coaches Association announced the members of their 2023 Hall of Fame class, which includes former VU Assistant Coach Tim Marsee and three-time NJCAA National Champion pole vaulter Matteo Capello (Turino, Italy).
“Being inducted into the NJCAA Track and Field Hall of Fame is one of the highest honors you can get as a coach,” Marsee said. “To be voted in by your peers and people that recognize your accomplishments were worthy enough to be in the Hall of Fame is pretty cool.”
“When I found out that I had been nominated to go in, I was kind of taken back by it because I didn’t know if I had enough qualifications for this honor,” Marsee added.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Track and Field teams rounded the corner to begin the home stretch toward the 2023 NJCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships Friday afternoon by competing at the Billy Hayes Invite hosted by Indiana University in Bloomington.
The Blazers faced off against athletes from several NCAA Division I programs, including Indiana, Cincinnati, Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Butler and Miami (Ohio).
The No. 18 ranked VU men’s team was led off by a dominant day by freshman Desroy Jordan (Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines).
MARION, Ind. – The No. 19-ranked VU Men’s and No. 25-ranked VU Women’s Track and Field teams hit the road this past weekend for a strong meet at the 118th Annual Little State Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion Friday and Saturday.
The VU men’s team had several big performances on the track this weekend, led off by freshman Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) who took the top spot in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:55.14.
Stanford was joined in the 1500 by sophomore Mathew Keitany (Kenya) who placed fourth with a time of 3:59.39 before taking the top spot in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.97.
VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University Track and Field distance runner, sophomore Hope Laughlin (Olney, Ill.) signed to continue her athletic and academic careers at NCAA Division II Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Wednesday afternoon.
Laughlin is joining a Sharks program led by Head Coach Bryan Hagopian, who has coached 42 Individual Conference Champions and 12 NCAA All-Americans in his 12 year career at Nova Southeastern.
“Nova has a very good athletic and academic program,” Laughlin said. “They also have a lot of internships and opportunities that will help me build my resume and experience for my masters degree and future career as an occupational therapist. Also the warm weather and the beach definitely played an important factor in my choice.”
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams headed into another big weekend of tough competition ranked in the Top-25 of this week’s USTFCCCA Polls with the VU men’s team slotted at No. 21 and the women’s team checking in at No. 24 in the country.
The teams again headed up north to Indiana State University for a big three-day Gibson Invitational meet in Terre Haute which began Thursday morning.
The first day of competition was highlighted by the first half of the men’s decathlon, which saw VU freshman Olegs Kozjakovs (Riga, Latvia) more than held his own, including taking the top spot in the shot put event with a throw of 15.05 meters and placing sixth in the long jump at 6.57 meters.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams placed well Sunday afternoon at the ISU Pacesetter Sports Invitational while facing a field of several NCAA Division I teams and being the only two-year school represented this weekend.
Both VU men’s and women’s track and field teams headed into the weekend ranked in the Top-25 in this week’s USTFCCCA rankings with the VU men’s team checking in at No. 20 this week and the VU women’s team at No. 22.
The No. 20 Trailblazer men’s team was led by another impressive performance in the 800 meters with freshman Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) coming away with the event win, pacing the field with a time of 1:55.24.
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams are still carrying the momentum of a very impressive end to the Indoor Season at Nationals earlier this month as the Trailblazers begin the 2023 Outdoor season Saturday at the EIU Big Blue meet at Eastern Illinois University.
The Blazers got the outdoor season started Friday afternoon at the IWU Polar Bear Invite, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University.
VU sophomores Ian Boit (Kimilili, Kenya) and Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) each recorded NJCAA National qualifying times in the 10k, with Boit finishing seventh with a time of 32:36.01 and Momodu placing ninth at 32:39.81.
TOPEKA, Kan. – Vincennes University freshman Julia Do Armaral Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) continued the Trailblazers’ storied tradition of pole vaulting Friday at the 2023 NJCAA Indoor National Championships, coming away with the Individual National Championship after besting the field with a height of 3.80 meters.
Fellow freshman Ysnaira Dos Santos Vieira (Brazil) joined Salvi on the podium after placing third, reaching a height of 3.50 meters.
“The VU Track Program had an incredible meet at the National Championships this weekend,” VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. “We had a lot of highlights, with an individual National Champion, eight athletes earning All-American honors and two VU schools records.”
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The No. 19-ranked VU men’s and No. 25-ranked VU women’s indoor track and field teams took part in their final meet of the 2023 season before Nationals Saturday in the ISU Open hosted by Indiana State University.
The VU men’s team got off to a good start Saturday with freshman Justin Emmanuel (Jamaica) and sophomore Yamar Lyons (Kalamazoo, Mich.) both placing in the top five in the 200 meters.
Emmanuel took home a third-place finish with at time of 22.92 seconds and Lyons finished fifth at 23.84 seconds.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Indianapolis, Ind. – The Vincennes University indoor Track and Field season is beginning to come to an end as the Trailblazers took part in the Hoosier Hills Invite at Indiana University Friday and the Jerry England Invite at UIndy on Saturday.
The VU men’s indoor team comes into this weekend ranked No. 19 in this week’s USTFCCCA National rankings and looked to solidify themselves with more National qualifiers this weekend.
VU was led off by a first place finish by freshman Desroy Jordan (Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) in the 400 meter dash. Jordan crossed the line at 49.01 seconds, outlasting a field of several NCAA Division I runners.
MARION, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field teams continued their strong season Saturday at the IWU Midwest Classic hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University.
The Trailblazers men’s Indoor teams came into this weekend ranked No. 21 in this week’s USTFCCCA National Rankings and continued to build on their already impressive resume Saturday.
VU was led by freshman Desroy Jordan (Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) who came away with a third-place finish in the 600 meters, ending with a time of 1:21.53.
ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams continued their great start to the 2023 Indoor season this weekend by taking part in the Bill Clinger Classic at Grand Valley State University Friday and Saturday.
The Trailblazers Men’s Track and Field team checked in this week at No. 16 in the first USTFCCCA National Rankings and did not disappoint this weekend.
Vincennes had a really good weekend from their throwers including sophomore Mason Harmes (Borden, Ind.) taking the top spot in the men’s weight throw with a final distance of 16.33 meters.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field teams closed out their split weekend Saturday afternoon at the John Gartland Invitational hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
Many of the VU throwers and jumpers, as well as a few distance runners competed in the meet Saturday.
The day got started at ISU with Vincennes native and Lincoln High School grad Haley Kohlhouse in the 60 meter dash.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Indoor Track and Field teams split up this weekend, with some of the VU distance runners heading to the Bellarmine Open in Louisville Friday afternoon.
The day began for the Trailblazers with the women’s one mile race, which saw sophomore Brittany Page (Freelandville, Ind.) set the best time by a VU runner, placing 35th with a time of 5:47.29.
Page would later compete in the women’s 800 meter race as well, finishing 18th with a time of 2:35.70.
VU Track and Field close out Outdoor regular season at Billy Hayes Invite
May 04, 2024BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Vincennes University Track and Field teams took their final tune up before the 2024 NJCAA Division I National Championships Friday evening, heading up to Bloomington to take part in the Billy Hayes Invitational hosted by Indiana University. The Blazers again found themselves in a stacked field of NCAA Division I athletes and more than held their own. The VU men’s team was led by the Trailblazer relay teams, winning the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:11.36 and taking second place in the 4x100 relay with a time of 40.67 seconds.
