Trailblazer Track and Field opens Outdoor season with busy weekend
ST. LOUIS, Mo. and TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men's and Women's Track and Field teams opened their 2025 Outdoor seasons this past weekend.
The Blazers split the weekend between competing at the WashU Distance Carnival in St. Louis and the Pacesetter Invitational hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
VU opened the weekend in St. Louis and freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) opened the Outdoor season with a bang, taking 10th place in the 1500 meters with a final time of 3:49.79, setting a new school record in the event.
The Vincennes distance team continued with sophomore Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) placing 166th overall in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:50.58.
Sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) and freshman Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) also took part in the 10k race, with Noel finishing with a time of 36:24.16 and Connaway posting a time of 36:38.22.
The men's distance results were rounded out at the Distance Carnival by freshman Jeremy Mendez (Velpen, Ind.) and sophomore Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) who competed in the 5,000 meters.
Mendez came in with a final time of 16:45.36 to place 293rd overall and Whitehead placed 323rd overall with a time of 17:30.39.
The women's distance results were led by sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) who took 222nd overall in the 5,000 meters with a time of 21:18.51.
Freshman Alexis Hale (Evansville, Ind.) finished just behind Fuller in the 5k, placing 223rd overall with a time of 21:20.19.
"Friday did not have good conditions for running fast the majority of the day," VU Interim Head Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "Every team had to deal with a warm day that we hadn't experienced since October that was not optimal for distance running. The winds picked up in the afternoon as well and made for some slow times in every heat. We did not have the day we were looking for for a lot of our events, but we were not alone in that."
"Caden and Alexis had the best races in the morning," Steigenga added. "Caden ran a very consistent effort for the entire 25 laps of the 10k. He went out in last place and kept moving up the entire race, passing over half the field. Alexis came away with a new PR in the 5k, but the time doesn't really tell the whole story. She has improved a ton since she ran her old PR during Cross Country. She' bound to drop a lot more time this outdoor season."
"Anis was the highlight of the meet as he was the last distance runner to compete, four hours after the rest had run," Steigenga said. "The weather changed a lot during that time, which resulted in conditions that we a lot more optimal for racing fast. He took advantage of it by placing 10th overall in the 49 athlete field and setting a new school record of 3:49.79, just under the old record by 0.13 seconds."
The rest of the Trailblazer Track and Field teams headed to Terre Haute Saturday for the 2025 Pacesetter Invitational.
The VU men's track results were headlined by the 4x400 relay team of freshmen Devin Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind.), ArTezz Butler-Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind.), Kelvin Kipsang (Kapsabet, Kenya) and sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.).
The VU relay team placed eighth overall with a final time of 3:33.53.
Spence would go on to compete in the 1500 meters, posting a time of 4:06.23 to take 17th, while Kelvin Kipsang placed 20th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:00.39.
ArTezz Butler-Sanders would also compete in multiple events on the day, taking 26th in the 200 meters with a time of 22.67 seconds.
Freshman Aaden Mapp (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed 33rd in the 200 meters at 24.10 and 19th overall in the 100 meters with a time of 11.47 seconds.
Sophomore Zion Pruitt (Avon, Ind.) rounded out the men's running results with a time of 59.95 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles.
Freshman Tremayne Brown (Anderson, Ind.) headlined the men's field event results by placing second overall in the high jump after clearing a height of 2.03 meters.
Sophomore Maliek Bush (Jeffersonville, Ind.) had a busy day in the field events, taking fourth in the javelin at 46.78 meters, 26th in the discus with a best throw of 30.71 meters and 27th in the shot put at 11.58 meters.
Freshman Cayden Gasser (Delphi, Ind.) rounded out the men's results on the weekend by also competing in three events Saturday, taking 22nd in the hammer throw at 27.57 meters, 25th in the discus at 34.27 meters and 28th in the shot put at 11.10 meters.
The VU women's track results Saturday were led by freshman Sara Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) who placed 13th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:25.60 and 17th in the 1500 meters at 4:55.42.
Belgacem placed just ahead of teammates sophomore Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) and freshman Allie Black (Lynn, Ind.) in the 1500 meters with Self taking 27th overall at 5:22.47 and Black taking 33rd overall at 5:55.17.
The women's field results were led by freshman Tamia Taylor (Vincennes, Ind.), taking 28th in the shot put with a best throw of 8.71 meters.
Freshman Braylee McKinnon (Linton, Ind.) closed out the weekend by taking 30th overall in the shot put with a throw of 7.52 meters.
"The rest of the team competed at Indiana State on Saturday morning," Steigenga said. "It was a warm day but overcast and rainy. After a brief delay, Maliek Bush got the competition started in the Javelin with a throw of 46.78 meters, good for seventh overall on the VU top 10 list."
"Later in the day, he got a six meter PR in the Discus and finished just off his PR in the Shot Put," Steigenga added. "In the high jump, Tremayne had a good showing. He got through the first three bars clean and cleared just an inch below his PR and was able to take three good attempts just above his best."
"Capping off the field events, Tamia improved her shot put by over a foot," Steigenga said. "In the sprints, Aaden and ArTezz both had huge PRs running 11.47 in the 100 meters and 22.67 in the 200 meters respectively."
"The 1500s were highlighted by Tanner and Sara," Steigenga added. "Tanner had a three second PR in the 1500, running 4:06 and Sara ran two seconds off the National Qualifying Standard, which was good for the sixth fastest time in school history."
The VU Outdoor season will continue next weekend when the Trailblazers head to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the 2025 Bellarmine Jim Vargo Invitational Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5.
"It was a bit of a 'welcome to outdoor' moment this weekend dealing with a lot of different weather variables," Steigenga said. "It's something we'll have to get used to quickly as we could experience something different every weekend. Overall it was a good opener with the athletes we had competing. Next we'll look to have everyone out there competing at Bellarmine."
VINCENNES RESULTS
WASHU DISTANCE CARNIVAL RESULTS
MEN'S RESULTS
1500m
Anis Abdaoui – 10, 3:49.79
5000m
Jeremy Mendez – 293, 16:45.36
Nathan Whitehead – 323, 17:30.39
10000m
Caden Hostetler – 166, 34:50.58
Cody Noel – 173, 36:24.16
Lane Connaway – 174, 36:38.22
WOMEN'S RESULTS
5000m
Adi Fuller – 222, 21:18.51
Alexis Hale – 223, 21:20.19
PACESETTER INV. RESULTS
MEN'S RESULTS
100m
Aaden Mapp – 19, 11.47
200m
ArTezz Butler-Sanders – 26, 22.67
Aaden Mapp – 33, 24.10
800m
Kelvin Kipsang – 20, 2:00.39
1500m
Tanner Spence – 17, 4:06.23
400m Hurdles
Zion Pruitt – 12, 59.95
4x400 Relay
Butler-Sanders, Wilson, Spence, Kipsang – 8, 3:33.53
High Jump
Tremayne Brown – 2, 2.03m
Shot Put
Maliek Bush – 27, 11.58m
Cayden Gasser – 28, 11.10m
Discus
Cayden Gasser – 25, 34.27m
Maliek Bush – 26, 30.71m
Hammer
Cayden Gasser – 22, 27.57m
Javelin
Maliek Bush – 4, 46.78m
WOMEN'S RESULTS
800m
Sara Belgacem – 13, 2:25.0
1500m
Sara Belgacem – 17, 4:55.42
Jasmyn Self – 27, 5:22.47
Allie Black – 33, 5:55.17
Shot Put
Tamia Taylor – 28, 8.71m
Braylee McKinnon – 30, 7.52m