Richard, Comastri break 20-year old school mark

Abdaoui sets school record, Trailblazers add National qualifiers at Eastern Indoor meet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams headed back to Louisville, Ky. Friday morning for the Eastern Indoor Collegiate meet.

The Blazers had another great showing in Louisville this week, surpassing several PRs, adding even more National Qualifiers and once again rewriting the VU record books.

Vincennes freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) set a new VU Track and Field school record Friday morning in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.96, placing him second in the meet.

Abdaoui was joined in the 800 meters by sophomores Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.), Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) and Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) who took 14th, 15th and 17th place overall respectively with Spence finishing at 2:01.08, Hostetler at 2:01.11 and Noel at 2:03.57.

The Trailblazers continued to fill the lanes in the 800 meter dash with freshmen Dakoda Greci (Danville, Ind.) taking 18th at 2:04.52, Isaiah Ervin (French Lick, Ind.) taking 20th at 2:06.51 and Artezz Butler-Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind.) placing 21st overall at 2:11.53.

Many in this group would later take on the 4×400 relay, with the team of Butler-Sanders, Spence, Greci and Hostetler taking second overall at 3:36.30 and the team of Ervin, Abdaoui, Noel and freshman Aaden Mapp (Indianapolis, Ind.) placing third at 3:39.69.

Mapp had a busy day himself, competing in the 60 meter sprint and taking 21st overall at 7.51 and 13th in the 200 meter at 23.91 seconds.

Freshman Devin Wilson (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the way for the VU sprinters on the day, placing sixth in the 60 meter sprint at 7.17 seconds and seventh in the 200 meters at 23.15 seconds.

Sophomore Maliek Bush (Jeffersonville, Ind.) just missed out on qualifying for the finals in the 60 meters, taking ninth at 7.19 seconds and freshman Chase Guthrie (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed 13th in the 60 meters at 7.22 seconds.

Freshman Marshawn Bradley (Dyer, Ind.) rounded out the VU sprinter results on the day by taking 17th in the 200 meters with a time of 24.86 seconds.

The Trailblazer distance crew was led by freshman Jeremy Mendez (Velpen, Ind.) who placed 20th in the 3000 meters with a time of 9:02.28.

Freshmen Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) and Hayden Kler (Hillsboro, Ind.) joined Mendez in the 3000 meters, with Connaway finishing just behind Mendez in 21st overall with a time of 9:11.48 and Kler taking 24th overall at 9:55.37.

The Vincennes field events were led by freshman Tremayne Brown (Anderson, Ind.) who came away with the top spot in the high jump after clearing a height of 2.03 meters.

Maliek Bush placed seventh in the high jump with a best height of 1.68 meters. Bush also placed fourth in the long jump with a distance of 6.53 meters and  fourth in the shot put with a best throw of 11.03 meters.

Freshman Anthony Keene (Harrisburg, Ill.) continues to show improvement in the pole vault, placing second in the meet after clearing 4.69 meters.

Chase Guthrie continued his busy day in the triple jump, where he placed second with a distance of 13.21 meters.

The VU Men’s results were rounded out on the day by freshman Cayden Gasser (Delphi, Ind.) who placed third on the day in the shot put with a best throw of 11.13 meters.

The Trailblazer Women’s team was once again led on the track by freshman Zoe Allen (Anderson, Ind.) who placed second in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.51 seconds and later taking sixth in the 400 meters with a time of 1:01.77.

Freshman Sara Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) led a crew of VU runners in the 800 meters, taking fourth overall with a time of 2:22.87.

Sophomores Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) and Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) were close behind with Fuller posting a time of 2:27.45 to take seventh and Self ending with a time of 2:30.57 in 11th place overall.

Freshmen Alexis Hale (Evansville, Ind.) and Allie Black (Lynn, Ind.) closed out the 800 meter dash for the Trailblazers with Hale taking 12th at 2:32.44 and Black finishing 14th overall at 2:40.74.

The relay team of Belgacem, Self, Fuller and Hale would go on to take second overall in the 4×400 relay with a final time of 4:23.38.

The VU Women’s team was led in the field events by two-time defending NJCAA National Champion pole vaulter Sophia Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) who claimed the top spot in the vault Friday after clearing a height of 3.90 meters.

The Trailblazers closed out the day in the shot put with freshman Tamia Taylor (Vincennes, Ind.) taking sixth overall with a throw of 8.10 meters and fellow freshman Braylee McKinnon (Linton, Ind.) placing seventh overall with a throw of 7.62 meters.

“Today was our last meet at Louisville for the Indoor season,” VU Interim Head Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “However, it felt very different with only six or seven teams in attendance.”

“We were still able to get a lot of good results and add a few National Qualifiers,” Steigenga added. “In the Pole Vault, Anthony and Sophia both bettered their season best marks and moved up in the National rankings. They looked the best they have all season.”

“Tremayne won the High Jump and then decided to take some attempts at 2.1 meters, which is a height he has rarely attempted before,” Steigenga said. “His second and third jumps were very close, with only his hair knocking the bar off on his last attempt.”

“Chase got over 13 meters in the triple jump for the first time, which was almost a half meter PR,” Steigenga added. “In the shot put both Tamia and Maliek got new PRs as well. Devin had a good showing in both the 60m and 200m. He made the finals in the 60 and ran a season best time twice. In the 200, he won his heat with a late push and got a big PR as well.”

“In the 800m, the VU women did a great job, with all of them Pring or running a season best,” Steigenga said. “Their times allowed us to qualify for Nationals in the 4×800. Sara and Adi ran great in the first heat and Jasmyn and Alexis both PRed in the second.”

“In the men’s 800, Anis ran a fantastic race and moved up to finish second overall, breaking the VU school record and qualifying for the National meet,” Steigenga added. “His time ranks 11th in the NJCAA. In the second heat, Caden ran a big PR in his first attempt at the distance since High School.”

In the 3k, all three VU men ran PRs with each running a very smart and even paced race,” Steigenga said. “We closed out the meet running a season’s best 4×400 on the women’s side. The men had two seemingly equal teams with a mix of distance runners and sprinters competing against each other with Caden bringing the baton home just ahead of Cody.”

The Vincennes University Track and Field teams will look to continue to build on this excellent showing on the track as they get set for their first meet of the season outside of Louisville, when the Blazers head to Allendale, Mich. Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15 for the Grand Valley State University Big Meet.

The Trailblazers will then close out their 2025 Indoor regular season Saturday, Feb. 22 when VU heads to Terre Haute, Ind. for the Indiana State Open hosted by Indiana State University.

“It was nice to walk away from this meet with a few more qualifiers and PRs,” Steigenga said. “We’re looking good heading into the home stretch of the season. Next week at Grand Valley, we’ll place a lot of focus on qualifying the men’s and women’s DMRs as well as the men’s 4×400. Grand Valley is a fantastic place to run fast, so we’ll look to take advantage of that.”

VINCENNES RESULTS

MEN’S RESULTS

60m

Devin Wilson – 6, 7.17

Maliek Bush – 9, 7.19

Chase Guthrie – 13, 7.22

Aaden Mapp – 21, 7.51

200m

Devin Wilson – 7, 23.15

Aaden Mapp – 13, 23.91

Marshawn Bradley – 17, 24.86

800m

Anis Abdaoui – 2, 1:52.96

Tanner Spence – 14, 2:01.08

Caden Hostetler – 15, 2:01.11

Cody Noel – 17, 2:03.57

Dakoda Greci – 18, 2:04.52

Isaiah Ervin – 20, 2:06.51

Artezz Butler-Sanders – 21, 2:11.53

3000m

Jeremy Mendez – 20, 9:02.28

Lane Connaway – 21, 9:11.48

Hayden Kler – 24, 9:55.37

4×400 Relay

Butler-Sanders, Spence, Greci, Hostetler – 2, 3:36.30

Ervin, Abdaoui, Noel, Mapp – 3, 3:39.69

High Jump

Tremayne Brown – 1, 2.03m

Marshawn Bradley – 7, 1.68m

Pole Vault

Anthony Keene – 2, 4.69m

Long Jump

Maliek Bush – 4, 6.53m

Triple Jump

Chase Guthrie – 2, 13.21m

Shot Put

Cayden Gasser – 3, 11.13m

Maliek Bush – 4, 11.03m

WOMEN’S RESULTS

400m

Zoe Allen – 6, 1:01.77

800m

Sara Belgacem – 4, 2:22.87

Adi Fuller – 7, 2:27.45

Jasmyn Self – 11, 2:30.57

Alexis Hale – 12, 2:32.44

Allie Black – 14, 2:40.74

60m Hurdles

Zoe Allen – 2, 9.51

4×400 Relay

Belgacem, Self, Fuller, Hale – 2, 4:23.38

Pole Vault

Sophia Salvi – 1, 3.90m

Shot Put

Tamia Taylor – 6, 8.10m

Braylee McKinnon – 7, 7.62m

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The University of Evansville women’s basketball team travels west to Southern Illinois and Missouri State this weekend.

A quick start to the Purple Aces game against Valparaiso didn’t last in a 66-54 loss to the Beacons last weekend. UE led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter but had a season-low second quarter. A 50% plus third quarter from the field wasn’t enough for an Evansville comeback in the second half.

The Aces’ held their second annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day game against Valpo last week. UE Athletics hosted 85 area girls 8th grade and under for a girls sports clinic followed by watching the basketball game. Evansville had a season-high attendance for Saturday’s game in Meeks Family Fieldhouse with over 600 fans in attendance.

The Aces head into the second half of Missouri Valley Conference play hungry for a second conference victory. UE will start against the one MVC team they did pick up a win against in the first 10 Valley games, Southern Illinois. On their home court, the Aces led for over 35 minutes in the 85-70 win. Evansville will look for its first victory in Carbondale since 2017 on Friday night.

The Salukis also have one Valley win after the first half of conference action. SIU beat Indiana State 63-58 on the road before seeing the Aces in mid-January. The win at the Hulman Center was one of only two road wins for the Salukis so far. But Southern Illinois has a single home win at the Banterra Center from December in their Elementary Field Trip game. SIU and leading scorer forward Gift Uchenna will try for their first home conference win Friday.

UE will wrap up its road trip over the weekend with the team’s final MVC game at Great Southern Bank Arena. The Missouri State Lady Bears are in their final season in the Missouri Valley Conference and are currently tied for second in the league with two other teams. Missouri State has only lost to two Valley teams so far with both losses coming on the road to UIC and Illinois State. The Lady Bears continue to be led by senior guard Lacy Stokes who is averaging 12.3 points and four assists a game.

After sitting out a game for a foot injury in mid-January sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Prairie HS) is back to her high scoring ways. Hartwig led Evansville in scoring in back-to-back games at home last week. She also picked up her fifth double-double of the season in 35 minutes against the Beacons with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Hartwig is sixth in the MVC with five double-doubles on the year. She is also fifth in the Valley in scoring, averaging 16.2 points a game.

With another double figure outing on Saturday freshman guard Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) leads the Aces with 19 double-digit scoring games. In 21 games, Runner has only had two single digit outings with both coming against other Valley teams. But when Runner wasn’t scoring in double figures, she was leading UE in rebounds during those two games.

HONOLULU – University of Southern Indiana Softball opened its 2025 season Thursday with a 4-3 victory in comeback fashion against Saint Louis University at the Hawai’i Paradise Classic.
 
Southern Indiana (1-0) got its offense going early with three consecutive two-out hits in the top of the first inning, but the Screaming Eagles could not push across a run. Saint Louis’ (0-1) offense loaded the bases in the first and second innings, but USI senior starting pitcher Josie Newman worked out of the jams in each frame.
 
The Billikens broke through with a tally in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-0 lead. However, the Eagles answered to get a run back in the top of the fifth after junior outfielder Caroline Stapleton singled and later came around to score on an RBI single by Newman.
 
The momentum carried over into the sixth for USI with a crooked number on the scoreboard. Junior designated player Olivia Money led off with a walk. Senior Whitley Hunter, who came up to pinch hit, drove Money in on an RBI double and tied the game 2-2. A few batters later and with two outs, senior outfielder Kennedy Nalley doubled to bring Hunter home and give Southern Indiana a 3-2 advantage. Another two-base pinch-hit knock in the next at-bat by freshman Grace Huffman scored Nalley to increase the lead to 4-2.
 
Saint Louis did not go down without a fight. The Billikens loaded the bases again in the bottom of the seventh inning. A bases-loaded walk made it a one-run game, 4-3, with two outs on the board. Newman induced a groundout to first for the final out and seal USI’s season-opening win.
 
Offensively, Nalley and Newman led USI with a pair of hits and an RBI. USI totaled four runs on nine hits. Newman also recorded her first win and complete game in the pitching circle. The senior struck out seven and allowed three runs off four hits.
 
Saint Louis’ sophomore pitcher Isabel Royle took the loss in relief. Royle surrendered all four runs on five hits in three innings of work. Senior pitcher Taylor Hochman pitched four shutout innings and allowed four hits toward a no-decision.
 
The Screaming Eagles return to action tomorrow from Hawai’i for two games on Friday. USI will face Santa Clara University at 6:30 p.m. CT and then take on host University of Hawai’i at 11 p.m. CT. Links for live stats coverage are available at usiscreamingeagles.com.