The UCA men’s and women’s track & field teams both picked up dominant wins at the Little Rock Invitational on April 11-12. 

The Bears came out on top with 241.5 points on the women’s side and 185 points on the men’s side, defeating teams from all over the state as well as teams from Tennessee, Texas, and Oklahoma. 

UCA head track & field coach Josey Weaver said to ucasports.com, “It was great to win both the men and women’s I-40 challenge this year. We did not focus or talk about winning this meet as a team, but instead doing our best and being process-oriented. This led to our teams’ success and individual success. It’s always a great day to break numerous school records, and I’m just super proud of our men and women for pulling together and competing well.”

The Trojans of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock trailed behind the Bears with 142 points on the men’s side and 153 points on the women’s side. 

UCA continued their record-breaking momentum from previous meets, this weekend rewriting four school records. 

Freshman thrower Jeffrey King threw a program record of 66.42m to handily win the men’s javelin over sophomore Levi Dugger, who threw a personal best of 51.93m. 

Sophomore thrower Joia Perry placed third in the women’s discus with a school record of 43.34m. UALR senior Aaliyah Mathis won the event with a 51.24m throw, followed by Prairie View A&M University sophomore Keonna Otis with a 45.78m throw. UCA took third through sixth place. 

Sophomore sprinter Xavier Simpkins set a school record in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 14.02 seconds, finishing in second place, just 0.02 seconds behind UAPB senior Dwight Henry. 

Junior thrower Jaden Schneeberger launched another school record in the men’s shot put, winning the event with a 17.41m throw over Western Kentucky senior Kaison Barton’s 16.69m. UCA took third and fourth place in the shot put with 16.49m and 15.80m throws from seniors Malik Beasley and Aidan Patton, respectively. 

The UCA men won five out of 20 events, including a sweep in the men’s hammer, which was led by Patton with a 63.34m throw, followed by Beasley with a 62.20m throw and Schneeberger in 62.13m.

Graduate sprinter Kobe Gill won the men’s 100m in 10.46 seconds, 0.04 seconds ahead of UAPB senior Jared Sylvester. 

Freshman Jeremiah Boudreaux won the men’s 200m in 21.02 seconds, just 0.01 seconds ahead of Prairie View senior Isaiah Barnes. 

On the women’s side, the Bears took eight of 19 events. 

Sophomore sprinter Raghan Allen swept the women’s 100m and the 200m in 11.58 seconds and 23.82 seconds, respectively. In the 100m, Allen was followed by teammate, junior Troynelle Miller, in 11.64 seconds. 

Senior distance runner Ali Nachtigal took the women’s 1500m in a personal best of 4:37.60, 0.16 seconds ahead of teammate, junior Madeline Hill. 

Graduate distance runner Sara Steimel won the women’s 3000m steeplechase in 11:03.27, which was over 25 seconds ahead of second-place finisher, UALR sophomore Kennedie Rhein. 

UCA’s sprint prowess was on full display in the women’s 4x100m relay, where the quartet of Brenae Allen, Danyelle Poole, Troynelle Miller and Raghan Allen came together to handily defeat the field by 0.80 seconds in 45.69. 

The Bears swept the jump events, with sophomore Davin James winning the women’s high jump with a jump of 1.65m, defeating UALR junior Ragen Hodge after clearing 1.65m on her first attempt. 

Junior Karis Martin won the women’s long jump with a 5.86m jump on her final attempt, defeating Prairie View senior Savoria Anderson by 0.02m. 

Perry handily defeated the women’s hammer field with a 60.77m throw, which was nearly six meters ahead of Western Kentucky senior Aitana Safont Falomir. 

The Bears look to continue their momentum from a so-far successful outdoor season at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, California April 17-18.