Martin Qualifies to Pace Statesmen at League Championship

Maryville, Mo.--Erica Martin (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Sports Management) pulled off her biggest performance of the year at the perfect time as her efforts guided the William Penn women's track and field team at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Indoor Championship Friday and Saturday.

As a squad, WPU scored 35 points to place sixth out of 12 teams.  Benedictine took home the team trophy with 182.5 points.

Martin scored in two events for the navy and gold, most notably taking third in the shot put.  Not only did she tally six team points, she also hit the national-qualifying 'A' standard and broke the school record with a distance of 44-1.5.  The senior broke the old mark of 42-6 was held by both Meaghan Foster (2015) and Shelbie Williams (2019).

She joins teammate Abigaille Batu-Tiako (Sr., Plattsburgh, N.Y., Business Management) as qualifiers for the NAIA National Championship from February 29-March 2 in Brookings, S.D.

Martin also ended up in eighth place in the weight throw at 49-4.25.

Batu-Tiako matched her by scoring in two separate events, placing third in the 60-meter dash (7.86 seconds) and fourth in the long jump (17-10.75).

Fellow sprinters De'Avae Adderley (So., Nassau, Bahamas, Engineering Technology) and Alexandra Rose (Jr., Quincy, Ill., Exercise Science) were point-scorers as well at the Championship.  Adderley was sixth in the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.06 seconds, while Rose was seventh in the 60 in 8.00.

Phoebe Burt (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Sociology) also recorded a pair of points in the shot put as she was seventh (40-9.75).

The relay squads had big outings as well, led by the 4x800-meter and distance medley crews both breaking school records.  Both teams finished fifth and were led by the same individuals--Briana Admire (Fr., Galesburg, Ill., Biology), Charlotte Hele (Fr., Apple Valley, Calif., Undecided), Elizabeth Hele (Sr., Victorville, Calif., Biology), and Roselaure Fuller (Jr., Pella, Iowa, Nursing).  The 4x8 team finished in 10:13.64, breaking a mark of 10:46.43 held since 2021, while the DMR squad (13:49.17) took down a record it set earlier this campaign.

The 4x400-meter relay team was seventh (4:16.06).

"What an exciting weekend for our ladies," Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said.  "They far exceeded the expectations of what was written down on paper.  This entire indoor season, they have climbed meet after meet to the top and we did not expect anything less when it came to the conference meet.  Their one objective was to be a thorn in other teams' sides and take points away.  They did just that and then some."

"Abigaille Batu-Tiako and Erica Martin were amazing!" Vinokur added.  "Abi continued her impressive senior campaign, while Erica had been flirting with big throws during practice and finally got it done at a meet, and it was priceless.  Our distance ladies were awesome as well with the same four individuals breaking records in back-to-back days.  What an accomplishment!"

"Our team is not the biggest, but our athletes are so talented and it showed this weekend," Vinokur concluded.  "We are extremely proud of them."

Next Up: Batu-Tiako and Martin will represent William Penn at the NAIA National Championship in two weeks.