Trailblazer Track and Field tops another school record at GVSU Big Meet

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Vincennes University Men's and Women's Track and Field teams continue to rewrite the VU school record books this season as another Trailblazer record was topped this weekend at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Michigan.

The two day meet began Friday afternoon with Vincennes setting the tone early for the weekend as sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) began the weekend in the 5000m with a fourth-place finish with a time of 15:28.00.

Freshmen Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) and Jeremy Mendez (Velpen, Ind.) also competed in the 5000 meters Friday but ran in different sections of the race, with Connaway posting a time of 16:27.73 to take 20th and Mendez ending at 16:36.83 to take 22nd.

The Vincennes sprinters Friday were led by sophomore Olamipo Ladipo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) who placed third in the 400 meter dash with a time of 47.92 seconds.

Sophomores Malik Ferdinand (Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Zion Pruitt (Avon, Ind.) were also in action Friday in the 600 meter dash with Ferdinand posting a time of 1:24.70 to take 11th and Pruitt crossing the line at 1:25.24 to take 13th.

Freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) got an invitation to run the mile Friday, finishing 13th in the event with a time of 4:10.99.

In the field events Friday, Freshman Tremayne Brown (Anderson, Ind.) took fourth in the high jump at 1.93 meters and freshman Anthony Keene (Harrisburg, Ill.) took fifth in the pole vault at 4.65 meters.

The VU Women's results Friday were led by sophomore and two-time defending NJCAA National Champion Sophia Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) who finished third in the pole vault with a height of 4.00 meters.

Freshman Sara Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) competed in the 600 meter dash Friday, taking 10th with a time of 1:42.34.

"Cody started off Friday morning with the first PR of the meet," VU Interim Head Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "He ran one his best races as a Trailblazers. Cody got out in the front pack and ran a very even race and covering every move. His new PR of 15:28 puts him eighth on VU's All-Time list."

"In the 600, Sara ran a new PR, finishing second in her heat," Steigenga added. "It was the seventh best time in school history. Malik and Zion ran in the first heat of the men's race. Zion ran five seconds faster than last year and Malik ran his first race in a month after spending a lot of time training as an injury precaution. It wasn't quite what he is capable of but he'll get into shape fast the next few weeks."

"In the women's pole vault, Sophia had some good jumps with a new season best," Steigenga said. "It improved on her no. 1 mark in the NJCAA. Olamipo went unchallenged in his heat of the 400 and led start to finish. His time of 47.92 was a National qualifier and moved him up to third in school history."

"Anis capped off the day with a new PR in the mile," Steigenga added. "He's only a second and a half off the school record and moved up to 12th overall in the NJCAA."

The big day for the Trailblazers this past weekend was Saturday however as the Blazers sent multiple runners to the track all day in multiple events and were headlined by the 4x400 men's relay team of Malik Ferdinand, Zion Pruitt, Artezz Butler-Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Olamipo Ladipo, who not only qualified for the NJCAA Indoor National Championships, not only took the top spot in the event Saturday, but also set a new Vincennes University school record with a time of 3:16.66.

Butler-Sanders would later return to the track to compete with the men's Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team along with sophomores Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.), Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) and freshman Anis Abdaoui to take 16th place overall with a time of 10:10.87.

Spence and Hostetler would also compete in the mile run Saturday, with Spence taking 55th overall at 4:38.36, Hostetler placing 40th at 4:34.72, sophomore Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) finishing 60th at 4:42.30 and freshman Hayden Kler (Hillsboro, Ind.) taking 69th overall at 4:47.80.

The Trailblazer distance runners continued in the 3000 meters where Cody Noel placed 52nd overall at 9:06.77, Lane Connaway finished 64th at 9:29.93 and Jeremy Mendez finished 83rd overall at 9:54.67.

Freshmen Kelvin Kipsang (Kapsabet, Kenya) and Dakoda Greci (Danville, Ind.) had a good showing in the 800 meters with Kipsang taking 30th overall at 2:00.40 and Greci placing 36th overall at 2:01.89.

The Vincennes sprinters were led Saturday by freshman Karmiel Williams (Jasper, Ind.) who placed 26th in the 60 meter dash at 7.19 seconds and 36th in the 200 meters at 23.24 seconds.

Freshman Marshawn Bradley (Dyer, ind.) placed 70th in the 60 meters at 7.54 seconds and 58th in the 200 meters at 25.15 and freshman Aaden Mapp (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed 61st in the 60 meter dash at 7.43 seconds.

The VU men's results on the track were closed out by sophomore Maliek Bush (Jeffersonville, Ind.) who placed ninth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.64 seconds.

Bush would continue his day in the field events where he would also take 22nd in the pole vault at 3.45 meters and 14th in the long jump at 6.18 meters.

Freshman Chase Guthrie (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed eighth in the long jump Saturday, with a best jump of 6.50 meters and freshman Cayden Gasser (Delphi, Ind.) rounded out the day's results with a 44th place finish in the shot put with a throw of 10.95 meters.

The VU women's track team also had a busy day Saturday, headlined again by freshman Zoe Allen (Anderson, ind.) who placed 16th in the 200 meters with a time of 26.24 seconds.

Sara Belgacem and sophomores Adi Fuller (Evansville, ind.) and Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) took part in the 800 meter race, with Belgacem leading the way with a time of 2:25.30 to take 24th, while Fuller placed 41st at 2:36.46 and Self finished 51st at 2:41.42.

The teams of Belgacem, Allen, Self and Fuller then competed in the Distance Medley Relay as well, placing 21st overall with a time of 12:57.41.

The Trailblazers weekend was closed out in the mile run where freshman Alexis Hale (Evansville, Ind.) took 45th overall at 5:39.75 and fellow freshman Allie Black (Lynn, Ind.) placed 62nd overall at 6:10.87.

"Cody also started off day two with a one second PR in the 3000," Steigenga said. "Maliek Bush ran a season best in the 60 hurdles, winning his heat and finishing ninth overall. In the 60, Karmiel led Aaden and Marshawn with all three of them coming away with PRs."

"Each of the DMR teams came away with a National qualifier and a top five mark in school history," Steigenga added. "The women snuck under the qualifying time by a tenth of a second thanks to a late push by Adi. The men finished well under the qualifying standard thanks to Anis running a 4:07 1600 split."

"Dakoda and Kelvin both came away from the 800 with new PRs and got the team closer to a 4x800 qualifier, now just over a half second off," Steigenga said. "Zoe came back off the DMR qualifier and ran a half second PR in the 200. Her time of 26.24 ranked her fifth in school history."

"In the women's mile, Alexis took the lead after two slow opening laps," Steigenga added. "Her gamble paid off as she came away with an eight second PR. In the men's mile, Hayden had one of the most exciting races of the day. He took the lead after three laps and never looked back. With a final 200 of 33 seconds, Hayden came away with a huge PR of 4:47."

"The 4x400 was the last event in terms of excitement and it did not disappoint," Steigenga said. "Malik led off with a 49.3 split, showing that his hard work on rehab and cross training paid off. He handed the baton to Zion in first place, who improved on his split from two weeks ago and matched Malik with a 49.3 of his own. Zion kept the lead and handed off the baton to Artezz. He ran great, coming off a National qualifier earlier in the day as part of the DMR team. Artezz kept the lead until the last 20 meters when he was passed by three other teams."

"After his 50.9 split, he passed the baton to Olamipo who was ready to go," Steigenga added. "He waited until 200 meters to go where he took the lead and never looked back. He held off three charging teams in the homestretch and got VU the win, national qualifier and school record by a narrow margin of .11 and .21 seconds respectively."

"As a coach, I have witnessed a lot of special moments in competition, but this one as to be one of the best," Steigenga said. "The way it brought the entire team together was truly special."

The Vincennes University Track and Field teams will look to put the finishing touches on an outstanding Indoor regular season next weekend as the Blazers head to Terre Haute, Ind. to take part in the Indiana State Open hosted by Indiana State University.

VU will look to finalize some more National qualifiers as the Trailblazers will then close out the 2025 Indoor season Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8 at the 2025 NJCAA Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted at the Sports Performance Center on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Tex.

"Overall it was a fantastic weekend," Steigenga said. "We accomplished most of what we needed to do. Next weekend we'll look to tune up and add another qualifying mark or two before Nationals."

VINCENNES RESULTS

FRIDAY RESULTS

MEN'S RESULTS

400m

Olamipo Ladipo – 3, 47.92

600m

Malik Ferdinand – 11, 1:24.70

Zion Pruitt – 13, 1:25.24

Mile

Anis Abdaoui – 13, 4:10.99

5000m

Cody Noel – 4, 15:28.00

Lane Connaway – 20, 16:27.73

Jeremy Mendez – 22, 16:36.83

High Jump

Tremayne Brown – 4, 1.93m

Pole Vault

Anthony Keene – 5, 4.65m

WOMEN'S RESULTS

600m

Sara Belgacem – 10, 1:42.34

Pole Vault

Sophia Salvi – 3, 4.00m

SATURDAY RESULTS

MEN'S RESULTS

60m

Karmiel Williams – 26, 7.19

Aaden Mapp – 61, 7.43

Marshawn Bradley – 70, 7.54

200m

Karmiel Williams – 36, 23.24

Marshawn Bradley – 58, 25.15

800m

Kelvin Kipsang – 30, 2:00.40

Dakoda Greci – 36, 2:01.89

Mile

Caden Hostetler – 40, 4:34.72

Tanner Spence – 55, 4:38. 36

Nathan Whitehead – 60, 4:42.30

Hayden Kler – 69, 4:47.80

3000m

Cody Noel – 52, 9:06.77

Lane Connaway – 64, 9:20.93

Jeremy Mendez – 83, 9:54.67

60m Hurdles

Maliek Bush – 9, 8.64

4x400 Relay

Ferdinand, Pruitt, Butler-Sanders, Ladipo – 1, 3:16.66

DMR

Spence, Butler-Sanders, Hostetler, Abdaoui – 16, 10:10.87

Pole Vault

Maliek Bush – 22, 3.45m

Long Jump

Chase Guthrie – 8, 6.50m

Maliek Bush – 14, 6.18m

Shot Put

Cayden Gasser – 44, 10.95m

WOMEN'S RESULTS

200m

Zoe Allen – 16, 26.24

800m

Sara Belgacem – 24, 2:25.30

Adi Fuller – 41, 2:36.46

Jasmyn Self – 51, 2:41.42

Mile

Alexis Hale – 45, 5:39.75

Allie Black – 62, 6:10.87

DMR

Belgacem, Allen, Self, Fuller – 21, 12:57.41