Sara Yakana Named 2024 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Wheeler Award Recipient 5/8/2024 7:41:00 PM Greenville, SC - The NCCAA is pleased to recognize Sara Yakana of Greenville University as the 2024 Wheeler Award recipient for Women’s Outdoor Track and Field. A junior for the Panthers, Yakana has excelled in the triple jump, long jump, and 100-meter dash while at Greenville. Her mark of 39’4” in the triple jump is the second-best mark in the NCCAA and the 17th best mark in NCAA Division III competition this outdoor season. Her mark of 18’9 in the long jump is the second best in the NCCAA and 18th nationally in DIII, while her time of 12.30 seconds in the 100-meter run is a top-10 time nationally amongst NCCAA athletes. Yakana also holds the 16th fastest time in the NCCAA in the 200 with a time of 25.84 seconds and was a member of the Greenville 4x100 meter relay team that set a new school record with a time of 47.45 seconds earlier this year. In her career, Yakana has recorded seven top-10 finishes at the NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. Yakana is a nine-time St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference winner and was voted the team’s Newcomer of the Year her freshman season. Yakana recently finished fourth at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships to earn her first-career NCAA All-American honors. A native of Gabon, Africa, Yakana’s parents moved to Litchfield, Illinois prior to her junior year of high school, where they serve as missionaries. Yakana is a member of the Gospel Choir and Pursuit praise band at Greenville University, and has been on mission trips to California, Kentucky, Texas and throughout her new home state of Illinois. Yakana also works at the local nursing home in the area. In the classroom, Yakana holds a 3.10 GPA while majoring in Biology. Head Coach Brian Patton states, “Sara takes ownership in track and field while caring for the well-being of her teammates and others. No one is going to outwork Sara. She is kind, and while very competitive, knows that while track is a great sport, it is a lousy god. She has been involved in children’s and youth ministry her whole life and is focused on making disciples in as many places as she can through sports and fitness.” Other Finalists Kelsey Goodson, Regent University Award Description John and Jody Wheeler have been involved in supporting athletic activities of Christian high schools and colleges throughout their lives. Jody passed in 2019 and John continues to actively participate in supporting Christian athletics via the NCCAA. He served on the NCCAA Board for 35 years and he and Jody founded the NCCAA Pro-Am event that has provided over $2,000,000 in support for the NCCAA since 1988. A Taylor University graduate who knows the benefit of a Christian worldview and a lifelong pursuit for God’s truth, John was inducted into the NCCAA Hall of Fame in 2002.