ROLLA, Mo. – Lewis University earned its seventh-straight and record 13th overall league crown at the 2023 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Allgood-Bailey Stadium on the campus of Missouri S&T in Rolla, Missouri, to conclude the three-day meet.
With the win, Lewis becomes the first team in the sport to capture the "triple crown" of GLVC Championships by sweeping cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field.
The Flyers earned 249 points to best runner-up University of Indianapolis (157) by 92 points.
Truman State University (93) finished third, while Southwest Baptist University (79) and Missouri S&T (72) placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Sixth place went to William Jewell College (57), and Drury University (48) finished seventh ahead of Maryville University (39) in eighth. Spots nine and 10 respectively went to University of Illinois Springfield (9) and Quincy University (3). McKendree University and University of Missouri-St. Louis did not score in the event.
Among the highlights on the day, three records were broken in the women’s 100-meter dash, women’s 4x100-meter relay, and women’s javelin.
Javelin Champion: Aliza Van Den Elzen, LEWIS
- GLVC record – 44.99 meters (147-7)
- Bested 2021 mark of 43.40m
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
High Jump Champion: Lily Simmons, SBU
- 1.68 meters (5-06.00)
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
Discus Champion: Ellie Weltha, TSU
Triple Jump Champion: Alecea Cardillo, LEWIS
- 12.16 meters (39-10.75 | +0.5 wind)
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
4x100-Meter Relay Champion: Lewis
- GLVC record – 45.68
- Khristel Martindale, Rose Ogbuli, Faith Wyman, and Alexandra Martinez
- Bested 2015 mark of 45.97
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
1,500-Meter Run Champion: Alexis Barber, SBU
110-Meter Hurdles Champion: Ailliyah Reese, UINDY
- 14.14 (+3.3)
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
100-Meter Dash Champion: Khristel Martindale, LEWIS
- GLVC record – 11.52 (+2.4)
- Improvement upon her own mark of 11.56 from the prelims, which bettered the 2021 mark of 11.63
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
- Voted GLVC Track Athlete of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year by coaches
400-Meter Dash Champion: Kyla Chalmers, LEWIS
800-Meter Run Champion: Lainy Williams, SBU
400-Meter Hurdles: Ellie Lengerich, UINDY
200-Meter Dash: Khristel Martindale, LEWIS
- 24.08 (+3.8)
- NCAA provisional qualifying mark
5,000-Meter Run: Zoe Van Dijk, DU
4x400-Meter Relays: Southwest Baptist
- 3:56.54
- Madison Hicks, Alexis Barber, Lainy Williams, Reagan Thomure
The top-three finishers in all events were named All-Conference honorees.
At the conclusion of the Championship, in addition to Martindale, Jewell’s Cydney Banks was named Field Athlete of the Year, S&T’s Maya Wright picked up Co-Freshman of the Year honors, while the league coaches also recognized Dana Schwarting as GLVC Coach of the Year.
Additionally, Missouri S&T was honored as the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award winner, while 12 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior were also named as their sport’s honoree for the award. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced later this month.
GLVC TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Khristel Martindale, Lewis
GLVC FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Cydney Banks, William Jewell
GLVC CO-FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR: Khristel Martindale, Lewis & Maya Wright, Missouri S&T
GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Dana Schwarting, Lewis
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Missouri S&T
GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP INDIVIDUAL HONOREES
Ashley Childers, Drury
Jade Aubrey, Illinois Springfield
Melissa Spencer, Indianapolis
Sydney Wolf, Lewis
Elaina Readnour, Maryville
Azia Douglas, McKendree
Maya Wright, Missouri S&T
Lily Wagemann, Missouri-St. Louis
Faith Haggard, Quincy
Paige Bradley, Southwest Baptist
Addison Walker, Truman State
Cecelia Rogers, William Jewell