Thursday, May 8
Harrisonburg, VA
Georgia Southern University
vs
Sun Belt Outdoor Championships
Photo by: Sun Belt Conference
4x100 Squad Breaks Sun Belt Record, Track & Field Earns Fourth at Sun Belt Championships
5/10/2025 8:15:00 PM | Track & Field/XC
Team shatters previous meet and conference record of 43.79 by running a 43.73 in the event
HARRISONBURG, Va.– A stellar effort from the Eagles on Day Three of the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships earned the team a fourth-place finish in the league - the highest the team has finished since joining the conference.
The Eagles finished with 91 team points, behind Southern Miss (97), Louisiana (108) and champion Texas State (119).
"This weekend, the ladies showed resilience like none other. I'm so proud of how they competed not only for themselves, but also for their team," head coach David Neville said. "We knew that they were prepared to run fast and jump far, but you never know how things will turn out until you get to the championship meet. I believe that this weekend showed we can compete with the best on a national level and that we have amazing athletes and an amazing coaching staff. I can't wait for the rest of the postseason to see what these ladies produce."
Several Eagles advanced to the finals in their respective events on the first day and several of those Eagles also medaled in those events.
Among those competing on the first day were Madison Hevesy in the first half of the heptathlon, finishing eighth overall with a score of 4055 after wrapping up the next day.
Julia Wilson ran the third-fastest time in the 10K in the school history, finishing with a time of 39:53.46.
Emily Wheldon set a school record on Friday in the 3000m steeplechase with a mark of 11:20.27, breaking Abby Bloom's 2007 record of 11:35.24.
The main highlight of the Friday events was in the long jump as the Eagles earned both the gold and silver. Imani Moore took home her first gold with a jump of 6.25m and Kennedy Hood snagged the silver with a jump of 6.14m (wind +2.4), with her fifth jump of 6.11m placing her fourth in the books.
With several of the final events occurring on Saturday, the Eagles stepped up in a big way, highlighted by the 4x100 team of Shatalya Dorsett, Emani George, Devine Parker and NaJ Watson, who flew to a Sun Belt and meet record of 43.73 in the event - shattering Coastal Carolina's record of 43.79 set in 2022 and breaking the GS record that same team set at the Penn Relays a few weeks ago.
Moore wrapped up another gold medal in the triple jump, furthering her second-place mark in the event in school history with a performance of 12.81m. Amara Thomas followed with an eighth-place mark in the high jump, the fourth-best performance in the GS record books at 1.68m.
Leonaya Knox used a strong burst of speed at the end to narrowly finish behind the event winner in the 100m hurdles. Her time of 13.37 further increased her hold on second in school history.
In a photo finish, Watson claimed the 100m gold by just one second with a school-record mark of 11.30. Both second and third place finished with a time of 11.31, and Parker came in fourth with a mark of 11.33 (#2 in school history). Dorsett's 11.41 placed her third in program annals.
Not to be outdone, Parker (23.07), Watson (23.12) and Dorsett (23.24) went 1, 2 and 3 in the 200m and the Georgia Southern record books for a clean sweep and a major points boost heading into the final few events of the day, where the Eagles wrapped it with 97 points after a seventh-place mark in the 4x400. In the 5K, Wheldon's time of 17:56.64 and Tristen Crosby's mark of 18:32.10 placed them second and sixth in school records, respectively.
The fourth-place finish is the Eagles' highest since joining the Sun Belt in the 2014 season and marks a major upswing in the development of the team over the last decade.
Following the Sunday qualifier at App State next weekend, the Eagles will send several to NCAA Regionals, with more details to follow.
The Eagles finished with 91 team points, behind Southern Miss (97), Louisiana (108) and champion Texas State (119).
"This weekend, the ladies showed resilience like none other. I'm so proud of how they competed not only for themselves, but also for their team," head coach David Neville said. "We knew that they were prepared to run fast and jump far, but you never know how things will turn out until you get to the championship meet. I believe that this weekend showed we can compete with the best on a national level and that we have amazing athletes and an amazing coaching staff. I can't wait for the rest of the postseason to see what these ladies produce."
Several Eagles advanced to the finals in their respective events on the first day and several of those Eagles also medaled in those events.
Among those competing on the first day were Madison Hevesy in the first half of the heptathlon, finishing eighth overall with a score of 4055 after wrapping up the next day.
Julia Wilson ran the third-fastest time in the 10K in the school history, finishing with a time of 39:53.46.
Emily Wheldon set a school record on Friday in the 3000m steeplechase with a mark of 11:20.27, breaking Abby Bloom's 2007 record of 11:35.24.
The main highlight of the Friday events was in the long jump as the Eagles earned both the gold and silver. Imani Moore took home her first gold with a jump of 6.25m and Kennedy Hood snagged the silver with a jump of 6.14m (wind +2.4), with her fifth jump of 6.11m placing her fourth in the books.
With several of the final events occurring on Saturday, the Eagles stepped up in a big way, highlighted by the 4x100 team of Shatalya Dorsett, Emani George, Devine Parker and NaJ Watson, who flew to a Sun Belt and meet record of 43.73 in the event - shattering Coastal Carolina's record of 43.79 set in 2022 and breaking the GS record that same team set at the Penn Relays a few weeks ago.
Moore wrapped up another gold medal in the triple jump, furthering her second-place mark in the event in school history with a performance of 12.81m. Amara Thomas followed with an eighth-place mark in the high jump, the fourth-best performance in the GS record books at 1.68m.
Leonaya Knox used a strong burst of speed at the end to narrowly finish behind the event winner in the 100m hurdles. Her time of 13.37 further increased her hold on second in school history.
In a photo finish, Watson claimed the 100m gold by just one second with a school-record mark of 11.30. Both second and third place finished with a time of 11.31, and Parker came in fourth with a mark of 11.33 (#2 in school history). Dorsett's 11.41 placed her third in program annals.
Not to be outdone, Parker (23.07), Watson (23.12) and Dorsett (23.24) went 1, 2 and 3 in the 200m and the Georgia Southern record books for a clean sweep and a major points boost heading into the final few events of the day, where the Eagles wrapped it with 97 points after a seventh-place mark in the 4x400. In the 5K, Wheldon's time of 17:56.64 and Tristen Crosby's mark of 18:32.10 placed them second and sixth in school records, respectively.
The fourth-place finish is the Eagles' highest since joining the Sun Belt in the 2014 season and marks a major upswing in the development of the team over the last decade.
Following the Sunday qualifier at App State next weekend, the Eagles will send several to NCAA Regionals, with more details to follow.
Players Mentioned
XC/Distance
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints
/ Track & Field/XC
Throws
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field/XC
Jumps/Hurdles
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints
/ Track & Field/XC
Jumps
/ Track & Field/XC
Sprints
/ Track & Field/XC
XC/Distance
/ Track & Field/XC
XC/Distance
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