Women’s Track & Field Kicks Off Indoor Season in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Texas A&M University–Texarkana women's track and field team opened its indoor season with a strong showing at the Washburn Alumni Invitational on Saturday, highlighted by a national B standard performance from Vinae Edwards.

Edwards delivered the top performance of the day for the Eagles in the triple jump, placing fourth with a mark of 11.79 meters. Her jump exceeded the NAIA B standard and was part of a group of four athletes that broke both the meet record and the NCAA Division II record. Edwards also contributed points for TAMUT in the long jump with a distance of 5.20 meters. In the high jump, Janiya Ross scored for the Eagles after clearing 1.50 meters.

The throws group added valuable depth to the team's overall performance. Ariyah Ford led the group with a fifth-place finish in the weight throw at 15.41 meters. Kyra Togni recorded a mark of 14.07 meters, Ava Ferreira threw 11.23 meters, and R'Naziah Johnson posted a throw of 10.94 meters. Ford also added a fifth-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 12.73 meters.

In the 60-meter hurdles, Damaria Bell placed third in the preliminaries with a time of 8.85 to advance to the finals. Bell went on to earn a sixth-place finish in the final at 8.99.

The Eagles were represented by three athletes in the 200 meters, led by Ja'Kouria Jamerson with a time of 26.47. Chukwudera Emeh followed at 27.23, while Elliana Edwards rounded out the event for TAMUT with a time of 30.21.

In the 400 meters, J'Layah Spellman-Collins placed seventh with a time of 58.89. Emeh finished next for the Eagles at 1:01.02, and Edwards concluded the event in 1:09.9.

Kayla Reeves represented TAMUT in both the mile and the 1,000 meters. Reeves posted a mile time of 5:51.5 and finished ninth in the 1,000 meters with a time of 3:18.75.

The day concluded with the 4x400-meter relay, where the team of Bell, Spellman-Collins, Jamerson, and Emeh combined for a time of 4:15.46.

The Eagles will return to action in the new year at the Friends University First-Chance Qualifier in Wichita, Kansas, on January 10.