Junior hurdler/distance runner, Yanira Deana Paninka, Competing in Race @sxu_xctf on Instagram
The girls track team started things off right for the outdoor portion of their season. They got it going in St. Louis as they set new personal records (PR), made some great debuts, and competed with passion.
SXU Women’s Track and Field vs. St. Louis University (Mo.) Bilikins Invitational: 8th of 22 – 24 points
We saw the girls compete fairly well at the Bilikins Invitational as they were able to garner up 24 points for the team. This resulted in the Cougars finishing at eighth place out of the 22 schools competing that day.
Junior hurdler Yanira Deana Paninka dominated in the 400m Hurdles as she broke the school’s record by finishing with a time of 1:04.21 minutes, placing her at third.
Paninka also took part in the 4×400 Relay, joining sophomore sprinter Amaya Rique, junior sprinter Emerson Colins, and senior middle distance runner Lexi Clarke. The girls placed second in the relay, finishing with a time of 4:03.42 minutes which is the third-fastest time in school history.
Colins participated in the 100m Dash and finished in eighth place. Posting a time of 12.39 seconds, which is her fourth-best time and the seventh-fastest time in program history.
Colins also ran in the 200m Dash and finished with a second-best career time of 25.66 seconds.
Rique made her Outdoor debut at the Invitational and had a great start, recording a time of 12.83 seconds in the 100m Dash. In the 200m Dash, Rique finished with a time of 26.59 seconds.
During the Shot Put event, junior thrower Jamie Sierocki threw for a distance of 11.72m, which is her third-best in school history. Sierocki took part in Discus and established a new PR with a toss of 34.91m.
We saw freshman thrower Mariah James make her outdoor debut, throwing at a distance of 11.69m which tied for the fourth-longest throw in SXU history. This throw also placed her at eighth place. James also placed eighth in Discus as she threw for a distance of 37.34m.
Junior thrower Katie DeHaan finished the event at 10th place with a distance of 11.34m, which is a new PR for DeHaan. During Discus, she recorded her second-best career distance at 30.45m.
SXU Women’s Track and Field vs. Chicagoland Championships: No Team Score
The girls kept it going a week later, as they displayed their best abilities at the Chicagoland Championships hosted by Elmhurst University (Ill.).
Paninka continued to dominate as she hit the NAIA ‘B’ Standard during the 400m Hurdles, finishing with a time of 1:03.59 minutes which placed her in second place. Paninka is the first Cougar to hit an NAIA Standard in the Outdoor season for the girls.
Mathis participated in the 200m Dash for the first time for SXU and she performed well, finishing at 26.52 seconds. Also doing the 400m Dash, Mathis placed eighth in the event clocking in a time of 59.27 seconds. This is her second fastest time in team history.
Freshman sprinter Sophia Thomas and junior sprinter/jumper Nayilea Bejarano both made their debuts last weekend and started pretty strong as they took part in the 100m Dash. Thomas finished with a time of 14.32 seconds, and Bejarano clocked in at 14.95 seconds.
Sierocki placed eighth in Shot Put when she attempted a toss for 11.58m, she also participated in the Javelin where she placed seventh with a throw of 31.98m.
DeHaan finished in the Top 10 for Shot Put when she threw her 10th place distance of 11.02m, DeHaan also did the Javelin event and finished at ninth place with a distance of 31.81m.
Senior thrower Lana Krohe is another track squad member who made their Outdoor season debut, taking part in Shot Put she placed sixth with a throw of 11.92m. Making that throw the fourth-best mark in school history.
James finished the event with a throw for 10.52m, James also placed eighth overall in Discus with a toss of 34.26m.
The Cougars women’s squad will take their talents down to Bourbonnais, Illinois to participate in the Tiger Open hosted by Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) on April 12, 2025.