Columbia, SC – For the first time in school history, the Greenville University women’s track & field team clinched the NCCAA Women’s Outdoor National Championship, winning the 2025 national championship on Friday, May 9.
 
The Panthers took first in the hammer throw, pole vault, shot put, 4x100 meter relay, and 100-meter hurdles, second in the 3000-meter steeplechase and 4x400 meter relay, and third place in the 400-meter run in the final day of competition.
 
Allea Graves from Malone University won women’s most outstanding track athlete, with first place finishes in the 200-meter and 400-meter runs, while also setting a personal best in the 100-meter run. Julia Pisenti of Jessup University earned women’s most outstanding field athlete, finishing first in the discus and javelin, while earning a third-place finish in the shot put.
 
Greenviulle Head Track & Field & Cross Country Brian Patton and his staff earned NCCAA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year honors. A full list of award winners and All-Americans can be found here.
 
Track Highlights

• Malone University’s Rylee Yocum started the day with a bang, winning the women’s 5000-meter run with a time of 18:06.12. That mark was over 17 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, and is a new personal best. Her teammate Kristin Yeager finished third with a time of 18:29.12.
• Ella Dufault of Crown College won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:12.40. Dufault won the race by more than 18 seconds, setting a new personal-best and running the 18^th fastest time in the event in NCCAA history. 
• The team of Taylor Tucker, Jazmyn Harmon, TyKiaza Jones, Jocelyn Fritz from Greenville University just beat out Malone University for the gold in the 4x100 meter relay, winning the race with a time of 47.75 seconds.
• Grace College’s Kylie Sauder added to her trophy case with a gold medal in the 1500-meter run, winning the race with a time of 4:40.68, just beating out Christy Shank of Campbellsville who finished second at 4:43.63.
• Greenville’s Jones continued to capture gold for the Panthers, winning the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.32 seconds. That ties Leah Molter’s time set in 2016 for Oklahoma Baptist University for the 11^th fastest time in NCCAA history. 
• Eleven was a popular number in Columbia this week, as Graves from Malone won the 400-meter run with a time of 55.63 seconds, the 11^th fastest time in the NCCAA. Caleya Holmes of Judson University and Taylor Tucker from Greenville both set personal bests in the event, with Holmes finishing second at 57.47 seconds, and Tucker finishing third at 57.66 seconds.
• Carissa Burns picked up a gold medal for Southwestern Christian University, winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.24 seconds. Morgan Johnson from Columbia International University just beat out Christy Shank of Campbellsville for third place, as Johnson finished the race in 12.36 seconds.
• Sauder tallied another first-place finish for Grace College, her second in a span of about two hours, winning the 800-meter run with a time of 2:11.53. That time is the third-fastest in NCCAA history.
• Grace Moravchik from the University of Northwestern picked up a personal best and a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles, winning the race with a time of 1:03.61. Sophia Moritz of Regent University finished second at 1:04.17, while Vladlena Klymova of Bethel finished third at 1:04.89.
• Graves continued to roll for Malone, winning the 200-meter run with a time of 24.79 seconds. Burns picked up another medal for Southwestern Christian, finishing second with a time of 24.99 seconds, a new personal best, while Columbia International’s Johnson finished third with a personal best time of 25.20.
• The team of Olivia Adkins, Cadence Manning, Morgan Welch, and Kylie Sauder from Grace College clinched gold in the 4x400 meter relay with a season best time of 4:00.17, just beating out Greenville.

Field Highlights

• Julia Pisenti of Jessup University picked up her second gold medal of the week, winning the javelin with a toss of 40.23 meters. That mark was almost five meters ahead of the second-place finisher. 
• Greenville University’s Talahiva Talanoa continued her dominance in the hammer throw, winning the event with a toss of 52.76 meters, a mark that is the third-best in NCCAA history, passing Greenville’s Andrea Schultz mark of 52.55 meters from 2003.
• Kenzie Kurdys from Greenville took home the gold medal in the pole vault, clearing 3.65 meters on her first attempt. Sophia Sumer and Gabrielle Zeilenga from Bethel University also cleared 3.65 meters, but both cleared on their second and third attempts, respectively, to take silver and bronze.
• Talanoa picked up a second victory, winning the shot put with a toss of 12.99 meters. Alecia Parker from Bethel finished second with a throw of 12.80 meters.
• Gabriella Lawrence of Paine College clinched gold in the triple jump with a distance of 11.68 meters, a new personal best. Aayla Marie-Adams from Judson University also set a personal best with a toss of 11.60 meters to finish second.

 
Full results from the 2025 NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships can be found here.
 
About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with two national invitationals for 92 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.