Voyles becomes seventh female athlete in meet history to capture four consecutive indoor titles in any event with 1,000-meter victory, also adds first mile crown for Warriors, who match McKendree (Illinois) from 1999-2002 as only women’s programs to win four straight; Cumberlands (Kentucky) gets a pair of championships from Santorum, along with Asslouj and Melchiore also prevailing in men’s final

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos courtesy of NAIA

Lisa Voyles cemented her legacy as one of the most decorated champions in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics history.

Indiana Tech added to its program dynasty Saturday at Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D.

And Cumberlands (Kentucky) delivered one of the most impressive performances in recent memory at the NAIA Indoor Championships to secure its first men’s team title.

RESULTS

Cumberlands dominated the distance events, including Luca Santorum winning both the 1,000-meter and mile crowns, with Youssef Asslouj capturing the 3,000-meter championship and Dillan Melchiore prevailing in the 3,000 race walk to contribute to an overall haul of 80 points.

Dordt (Iowa) was runner-up with 41 points, with Marian (Indiana) taking third at 40.5 points and William Carey (Mississippi) finishing fourth with 38 points.

Indiana Tech became only the second women’s program to win four consecutive championships – joining McKendree (Illinois) from 1999-2002 – by scoring in 10 events, including Jamaya Warthen prevailing in the 60-meter dash, Evelyn Dolce securing victory in the pole vault and Voyles doubling up in the 1,000 and mile to triumph with 88 points.

Voyles became only the seventh female athlete in NAIA Indoor Championships history to win four in a row in any event, including the only competitor in either gender in the 1,000, and the lone women’s performer in any distance race. An eight-time NAIA national champion, Voyles has also won the indoor DMR crown, along with outdoor 800 and 4x400 relay titles.

She also anchored Indiana Tech to a second-place finish Saturday in the distance medley relay, contributing to the fifth women’s indoor crown in program history and the 17th overall team title for the Warriors.

William Carey placed second with 79 points, Concordia (Nebraska) and Cumberlands tying for third with 42 points.

Voyles clocked 2:46.84 in the 1,000 and 4:51.58 in the mile, in addition to joining Krista Boese, Kayla Moody and McKenna Palmer to run 11:48.83 in the DMR, trailing only The Master’s College, which had Ellen Palmgren, Juliette Colunga, Suzie Johnson and Hannah Fredericks triumph in 11:38.20, the fastest mark on any indoor surface in NAIA history.

Fredericks also won the women’s 3,000 in 10:08.21 for The Master’s, which tied for sixth with 32 points.

Warthen ran 7.39 in the 60-meter final for Indiana Tech, with Dolce clearing 12-8.25 (3.87m) on the first attempt to edge Nevaeh Brown of Midway, who made the height on her second opportunity.

Hannah Antkoviak of Olivet Nazarene won the 600-meter crown in 1:28.80, along with anchoring a 4x400 relay lineup to victory in 3:42.90, teaming with Kiara Carter, Carsyn Burdine and Tera Miller.

Antkoviak achieved the fastest 600 time on any indoor surface in NAIA history, eclipsing the previous all-time mark of 1:29.47 established last season by Addy Wiley of Huntington (Indiana). She also took runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles final in 8.39.

Concordia prevailed in the women’s 4x800 relay, with Jenna Esch, Rylee Haecker, Julie McIntyre and Kylahn Freiberg running 9:06.48 to capture the title.

Arriana Benjamin of Marian swept the women’s shot put and weight throw, with Machaeda Linton from William Carey earning wins in the long jump and triple jump, joining Voyles as the only female competitors to win multiple individual titles.

Benjamin had a mark of 49-1.50 (14.97m) in the shot put and produced a 63-6.25 (19.63m) effort in the weight throw.

Linton had a leap of 19-9.50 (6.03m) in the long jump and triumphed in the triple jump with a 41-5 (12.62m) performance.

Emma Valentine of Siena Heights cleared 5-9.75 (1.77m) to capture the women’s high jump crown.

Kaitlyn McColly from Dickinson State accumulated 3,716 points to prevail in the women’s pentathlon.

Salieci Myles of William Carey was victorious in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.23, Life’s Printassia Johnson ran 23.26 to grab the 200 championship and Praise Idamadudu of Cumberland (Tennessee) won the 400 title in 52.87, the fastest performance on any indoor surface in NAIA history.

Life’s Emeline Delaville triumphed in the women’s 800 in 2:12.05, College of Idaho’s Ellyse Tingelstad won the 5,000 in 17:22.98 and Heather Durrant from Cumberlands achieved the second-fastest mark in NAIA indoor history in the 3,000 race walk by clocking 13:23.29, giving her the top three all-time performances during her freshman season.

Santorum ran 2:22.70 in the 1,000 – the best performance on any indoor track in NAIA history – and clocked 4:06.86 in the mile for Cumberlands, with Asslouj achieving an 8:18.60 performance in the men’s 3,000 final and Melchiore leading three Patriots in the top four with his 12:56.89 effort.

Oklahoma City won both the men’s 4x800 and DMR, but didn’t score any additional points.

Kanyon Cobbs, Brendan Robeaux, Tate Smithhart and Evert Silva ran 7:32.65 in the 4x800 relay, and the same quartet clocked 9:47.06 to triumph in the DMR, achieving the No. 2 all-time NAIA indoor mark.

Dordt was victorious in the men’s 4x400, with Levi Schelhaas, Noah Schroeder, Cole Zevenbergen and Payton Mauldin running 3:10.89.

Mauldin added another championship in the 600 by clocking 1:15.84, the fastest effort on an oversized track in NAIA indoor history and No. 2 overall, trailing only a 1:15.78 performance in 2019 by Tre Hinds from Wayland Baptist. 

Barnabas Aggerh of William Carey won the 60-meter dash in 6.63 and Mount Marty’s Edwin Nyamutswa clocked 21.04 to prevail in the 200.

Texas Wesleyan teammates Tajean Houston and Tyrece Grant both captured titles. Houston earned the win in the 60-meter hurdles in 7.88, with Grant securing victory in the 400 in 46.70.

Carter Gordon from Lewis-Clark grabbed the 800 crown in 1:51.0 and Luke Pohl of Indiana Wesleyan won the 5,000 in 14:28.14.

Graceland’s Michael Millslagle cleared 7-0.25 (2.14m) to capture the men’s high jump championship, Midland’s Robert Atwater produced a leap of 24-8.25 (7.52m) to take the long jump and Seth Alexander of Xavier-Louisiana triumphed in the triple jump with a 50-7.25 (15.42m) performance.

Marian teammates Jacob Netral and Isaiah Tipping swept the men’s shot put and weight throw titles.

Netral achieved a 57-5.50 (17.51m) effort in the shot put and Tipping won the weight throw with a 69-8.75 (21.25m) performance.

Zach Zohner of Concordia cleared 17-2.75 (5.25m) to win the men’s pole vault and Mason Schleis from Mount Marty amassed 5,157 points to secure the men’s heptathlon crown.