Salina, KAN. - The Ottawa men's and women's track & field teams concluded their season at the KCAC Championships held at Kansas Wesleyan University, and to say they made history would be an understatement.
The women's team, after finishing second the past two years, finally achieved the impossible. In the closest finish in women's KCAC history, they were able to outlast the University of St. Mary to win the first outdoor conference championship in program history. Along the way, they set two KCAC Championship records, six more school records, and recorded a total 10 NAIA national championship qualifying standards.
The women were led by KCAC Athlete of the Year Jayonna Perry, a junior who contributed 40.5 of the 165 total points, as well as senior Jordyn Weems, who contributed 35.
Perry's two days of action resulted in (not including preliminary rounds):
- High jump: 2nd place—1.66m (5' 5.25"). NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- Long jump: 1st place—5.8m (19' ½"). NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 100m hurdles: 1st place—14.26 seconds. School record & NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 400m: 3rd place—56.66
- 400m hurdles: 1st place—1:03.17. NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 4x400m relay: 1st place—3:52.02. KCAC championship record, school record, NAIA national championship qualifying standard
Weems' results over the two-day meet weren't much different. Her two-day resume (not including preliminary rounds) resulted in:
- Long jump: 3rd place—5.75m (18' 10.5"). NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 4x100m relay: 1st place—46.65. KCAC Championship record, school record, NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 100m: 3rd place—11.79. School record & NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 400m: 2nd place—56.61. NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 200m: 1st place—24.3. School record & NAIA national championship qualifying standard
- 4x400m relay: 1st place—3:52.02. KCAC championship record, school record, NAIA national championship qualifying standard
The women's team was projected to finish no higher than second place. Even the KCAC's website, in a meet-preview article released last week, projected them to finish fifth. In order achieve the impossible, it was going to require more than just Weems and Perry to perform their best—it was going to take a true team effort—and this team rose to the occasion. The women's team recorded a total of 26 lifetime-best performances, many of which contributed to the team's overall score:
- Jah-Nisha Campbell took 5th in the 200 (25.12-PR), 5th in long jump (5.59m-PR), 8th in the 400 (1:00.08-PR), tied for 5th in high jump (1.56m) and was a member of both the 4x100 and 4x400m relays.
- Tanzania Barnes placed 4th in the 400 (57.76-PR), 4th in the 400m hurdles (1:06.83-PR) and was a member of the 4x400m relay.
- Roy'Janae Brown was 5th in the 100 (12.06-PR), 3rd in the 200 (24.85-PR), and was a member of the 4x100m relay.
- Saraiah Ervin tied for 5th in the high jump with a lifetime best of 1.56m and placed 8th in the javelin with a throw of 33.65m.
- Aba Sam placed 4th in long jump (5.74m-PR) 2nd in the triple jump (12.02m-PR & school record), and was a member of the 4x100m relay team.
- Kena Leonard took 4th in the shot put with a throw of 11.96m.
- Ciera Hutton-Spieker placed second in the discus with a personal-record throw of 39.93m.
- Zoie Means-Thomas finished 6th in discuss with a personal-record throw of 37.62m.
- Rian Boub placed 4th in the javelin with a throw of 39.95m.
Coach Whittaker had this to say about the teams' massive performances: "I'm still at a loss for words. I tell our team every year that the training plan is designed so that we are performing our best at the most important time of the year, but I've never seen anything like this. When it comes to the number of PR's, the clutch moments, the response to adversity, and the ability to handle the most high-pressure situation of their entire careers (particularly knowing that we had to win the 4x400 to win the championship), Friday was the single greatest day of track and field I've ever witnessed—not just from teams I've coached—from any team. I can't believe I get to be the one they share it with."
JayOnna Perry was named the KCAC Athlete of the Meet and Coach Whittaker was named the Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year.
The men's team didn't win a team title, instead finishing in 6th place overall, but their competition wasn't without some major fireworks of their own.
While the women's team had 26 lifetime best performances, the men had another 14 of their own, with the most heart-pounding highlight coming in the men's 100m final:
Domonic Atkinstall, the defending KCAC 100m champion, had not run a fast enough time yet this season to be ranked in the top 10 in the conference. Atkinstall, however, is used to being the underdog. He has won the last 3 short-sprint titles (2024 indoor 60m, 2024 outdoor 100m, and 2025 indoor 60m), yet he was never the favorite. At this year's outdoor championship, the outcome of the 100m final was expected to be different, as there were now two other athletes ranked ahead of him who had both run faster than Domonic's lifetime best. None of it mattered. In a photo finish, Atkinstall somehow crossed the line before everyone else, defending his title and scoring 10 points for the team.
Other scoring highlights from the men's competition include:
The Braves will officially conclude their season at the NAIA outdoor championships at Indiana Wesleyan University May 21-23.
