Missouri Western Women’s and Men’s Track Teams Shine at SLIAC Indoor Championships
The Missouri Western State University women’s and men’s track and field teams outperformed preseason predictions at the two-day 2026 SLIAC Indoor Championships in Elsdorf, Illinois. The women’s team finished second, while the men’s team took third, surpassing coaches’ poll forecasts that had the women third and the men fifth.
Six school records fell, and the teams combined to earn 14 medals—six gold, two silver, and six bronze. Head coach Dedrick Burnett’s squads also received three SLIAC postseason awards. Freshman Malachi Morgan was named both the Male Freshman Field Events Athlete of the Year and the overall Male Field Events Athlete of the Year. Women’s freshman Ariella Jones received the Female Freshman Field Events Athlete of the Year honor.
Morgan tied his own school record in the long jump, winning with a leap of 6.86 meters on his final attempt. He also won the high jump, clearing 1.94 meters, and finished sixth in the 60-meter dash in 7.10 seconds. Morgan contributed to the team’s success with a third gold medal in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, clocking 8.73 seconds to lead a 1-2-3 sweep by The W. Mikendall Morris earned silver with a time of 8.77 seconds, besting the previous school record of 8.87 seconds, while former record-holder Allen Fields took bronze in 8.90 seconds.
The men’s 4×400 relay team of Bryson Boler, Cortland Earl, Noel Kellum, and Jarvis Sellers finished third in 3:34.47 minutes. James Nesby set a school record in the weight throw with a toss of 11.24 meters, eclipsing his previous best of 10.27 meters.
On the women’s side, Jones matched Morgan’s achievement in the long jump, winning with a school-record mark of 5.30 meters on her final attempt. In the triple jump, Jones finished second with 10.40 meters, while teammate Hali Sinegal set a school record with 10.66 meters to win gold and also earned bronze in the high jump with a clearance of 1.42 meters. Freshman Princess Lofton took third in the 60-meter hurdles in 10.07 seconds.
Brooklyn Kelley added two medals for the women, setting a school record in the weight throw with a distance of 14.95 meters to win gold. Kelley also finished third in the shot put, throwing 11.04 meters, as did teammate Arie’Onna McCollum, who also recorded 11.04 meters based on misses. Armoni King earned a third-place finish in the 400 meters in 22.28 seconds.
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