Trailblazer Track and Field brings home three National Championships

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Vincennes University men’s and women’s Track and Field teams had another outstanding showing Friday and Saturday at the 2024 NJCAA Indoor National Championships in Gainesville, Fla.

VU freshman pole vaulter Sophia Amaral got things started on Friday by winning the pole vault National Championship by clearing a height of 4.01 meters.

Sophomore Desroy Jordan picked up the second National Title for the Trailblazers Saturday in the 600 meter dash, qualifying Friday with a time of 1:18.44 before coming back even faster Saturday with a time of 1:17.31.

Sophomore Olegs Kozjakovs was the third VU event winner over the weekend putting together a stellar weekend to claim the top spot in the heptathlon.

Kozjakovs got off to a fast start in the first four events Friday, winning the shot put with a throw of 15.02 meters and placing second in the long jump at 7.03 meters.

Heading into the final three events of the heptathlon, Kozjakovs was in second place with a total of 2,954 points.

Kozjakovs would get a massive boost Saturday with an outstanding performance in the pole vault event, clearing a height of 5.00 meters to earn a massive 910 points, jumping him into the top spot on the leaderboard.

Olegs closed out the heptathlon by placing sixth in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:52.95 earning 735 points and finishing the weekend with 5,327 points to claim the National Championship.

Kozjakovs wasn’t done there however, as Olegs would claim two-time All-American status Friday in the pole vault event as well, placing second after clearing a height of 4.79 meters.

Sophomore vaulter and 2023 Indoor National Champion Julia Amaral would also pick up her third All-American honor Friday, placing eighth in the women’s vault with a height of 3.31 meters.

Sophomore Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) just missed out on the podium in the 1000 meters, finishing 10th with a time of 2:28.40.

Stanford would then turn around and compete in the men’s Distance Medley Relay with freshmen Brahym Sakka (Tunisia), Clinton Laguerre and Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) to place 15th with a time of 10:18.40 and close out the weekend Saturday in the 4×800 relay along side Sakka, Spence and freshman Bryaun Manuel (East St. Louis, Ill.) and place ninth with a time of 7:51.71.

Freshman Emilly Barbosa (Sao Paulo, Brazil) also served as a triple threat for the Blazers over the weekend, competing individually in the 1,000 meters and placing 17th with a time of 3:05.20 before joining freshmen Zinzile Gumpo, Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) and Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) in the Distance Medley Relay to place 12th with a time of 12:58.32.

Barbosa capped off the busy weekend Saturday in the 4×800 relay with Fuller, Self and freshman Grayson Haynes (Sebree, Ky.) with the team placing 13th with a time of 10:25.48.

Freshmen Olamipo Ladipo and Tumaini Skinner rounded out the Trailblazer finishers, competing in the 200 meters with Ladipo placing 32nd at 22.01 and Skinner finishing 37th with a time of 22.48 seconds.

The men’s 4×400 relay team also competed Saturday but were unfortunately disqualified for running outside of their lane and unable to post a time.

Overall, the VU men’s team placed 10th after earning 27 points and the VU women’s team placed 23rd with 11 points, very good showings for both teams.

“We had a very exciting weekend at the NJCAA Indoor Championships this weekend,” VU Head Track and Field Coach Marty Rogier said. “It started with Olegs being named the Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year for the Indoor Season. That’s a really big honor coming from our Region.”

“The men’s team had a great showing, finishing in the top 10,” Rogier added. “Our program had three National Champions with Sophia, Desroy and Olegs all claiming the top spot on the podium. In addition to that, we earned two more All-American honors and broke two school records. To compete at this meet is such a thrill because the level of competition is so high. The quality and depth of talent was probably one of the best in this championship’s history.”

“Our sister tandem from Brazil, Sophia and Julia, got us off to a good start Friday in the pole vault where they scored our only points on the women’s side,” Rogier said. “Sophia, once again, dominated the meet, clearing 4.01 meters, easily surpassing the second place finisher by over a foot to win her first National title.”

“Julia, last year’s National Champion, added an eighth place finish to earn her third All-American award over the past year,” Rogier added. “I’m very excited for outdoor season to see what the girls might do when they get a little wind at their back.”

“Saturday Desroy ran a brilliant race to win the 600 meters in dramatic fashion,” Rogier said. “He closed in the last 150 meters to pass the two top ranked athletes in the country to capture his first National Title. It was really exciting to see Desroy get a championship of his own. Desroy was ranked fourth in the 600 and seventh in the 400 prior to this weekend, so it was a tough decision to decide which race to go after because the sprints are extremely competitive at this level. I wish I could say it was great coaching, but Desroy is a fierce competitor and has the ability to measure up to others during a race and just close the door at the right time. It was a well-deserved win.”

“Olegs was again just outstanding,” Rogier said. “Friday was the first day of the Heptathlon, where he competed in the 60 meter sprint, long jump, shot put and high jump. He was in second place at the end of the first day’s events but wasn’t done. After hat five hour event, he competed in the open pole vault competition. We were not sure about trying this difficult double but the schedule provided the opportunity and he managed to tie for second place in a very good competition, clearing 4.79 meters. I was hoping that he might pull off the win but it was a lot to ask of him to compete in five events in one day.”

“He returned Saturday for day two of the Heptathlon sitting in second place with three events left,” Rogier said. “It started a little rough with the hurdles, where he dropped to fourth place in overall points. But he rallied back in the second event, which was his specialty, the pole vault. He got it going and cleared five meters, which was higher than the winning height in the open competition. That big point total put him in the lead with only the 1000 meters left. The 1000 meters is not exactly Olegs’ favorite event and he had to stay within 15 seconds of his closest competitors. He gutted it out and closed out the event with 5,327 points, beating Harry Crosby of South Plains by only 50 points.”