HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Vincennes University sophomore pole vaulter Sophia Salvi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) completed the clean sweep, claiming her fourth NJCAA Pole Vaulting National Championship Thursday at the 2025 NJCAA Division I Outdoor National Championships hosted by Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan.
Salvi got the Trailblazer Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams off to a hot start to the three-day meet, winning the pole vault National Championship after clearing a height of 3.81 meters, her fourth National Championship in the past two years.
The Thursday events continued for the VU women’s team when freshman Zoe Allen (Anderson, Ind.) competed in the 400 meter hurdles, taking 15th place overall with a final time of 1:04.23.
On the men’s side Thursday freshman Anthony Keene (Harrisburg, Ill.) claimed the VU men’s team’s first All-American honors on the weekend, taking second place overall in the pole vault after clearing a height of 4.96 meters.
Sophomore Malik Ferdinand (Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines) continued the day by taking 27th place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 47.51 seconds.
VU sophomore Maliek Bush (Jeffersonville, Ind.) was also active during the opening day of the Outdoor National Championships, competing in the first five events of the Decathlon.
Bush opened the Decathlon strong by taking fourth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.10 seconds, before climbing up the leaderboard with a first place finish in the long jump with a distance of 6.99 meters.
The strong start for Bush continued by taking fifth in the shot put with a throw of 11.07 meters, before closing out the first day by taking 12th in the high jump at 1.80 meters and 10th in the 400 meter dash with a time of 52.84 seconds.
“Maliek got the competition started in the Decathlon with the 100 meters,” VU Interim Head Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “The track ran slow for everyone and he finished just off a PR, but keeping him in a good spot at the start. In the long jump, a lot of competitors were struggling to get a good mark but Maliek managed to get in a great jump of 6.99 meters and move himself into first place in the competition.”
“The shot put didn’t go as well as he wanted but he kept himself in second overall,” Steigenga added. “We wanted to get one more bar in the high jump but fell just short with Maliek brushing the bar off with the back of his calves on the last attempt. He finished day one in fifth place and in a good spot for day two.”
“In the field events, pole vault had an added challenge of cross winds and wind gusts throughout the competition that made it difficult for all competitors,” Steigenga said. “Sophia struggled at the opening height at first but managed to clear it on her third try. After that, she was clean through the next two bars until she won the competition and secured her fourth and final NJCAA pole vault title.”
“In the men’s vault, Anthony nearly matched Sophia with a runner up finish of his own,” Steigenga added. “He finished just off his PR and took three attempts at a new one in some very difficult jumping conditions where most athletes finish far off their PRs.”
“Zoe was the first individual running event to go on day one,” Steigenga said. “She got out slow in her heat of the 400 meter hurdles but managed to close hard and narrowly missed her PR by a quarter of a second. In the men’s 400 meters, Malik Ferdinand came away with a small 0.01 second PR and finished well ahead of his ranking going in.”
Bush continued the Decathlon Friday where he again opened the day strong, finishing third in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.95 seconds, winning his heat.
The events continued with Bush claiming ninth in the discus with a throw of 28.65 meters and seventh in the pole vault after clearing a height of 3.50 meters.
Bush made a strong push to the end, taking second place in the javelin with a best throw of 46.48 meters before capping off the Decathlon by taking ninth place in the 1500 meters with a time of 5:12.20.
Bush closed out the Decathlon with a total of 6,319 points earned, placing him fourth overall and claiming the second All-American honors for the VU men’s team.
Friday was another busy day for the Trailblazers on the track, with freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) pulling double duty by taking 13th in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:56.21 and placing 32nd overall in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.60.
The Trailblazers 4×400 relay team of freshman Isaiah Ervin (French Lick, Ind.), sophomore Zion Pruitt (Avon, Ind.), freshman ArTezz Butler-Sanders (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Malik Ferdinand placed 20th on the leaderboard with a final time of 3:21.33.
The Friday men’s team events Friday were closed out by freshman Tremayne Brown (Anderson, Ind.) who placed 14th in the high jump after clearing a height of 2.02 meters.
The VU Women’s team results from Friday were led by freshman Sara Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) who placed 20th in the 1500 meters with a final time of 4:56.95.
Sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) also placed 20th in her event, taking the 20th spot overall in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 12:34.68.
Sophomore Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) closed out the day’s results by taking 34th overall in the 800 meters with a final time of 2:43.61.
“Maliek started off the second day of competition with a strong showing in the 110 hurdles,” Steigenga said. “He finished third overall in the event, which put him fifth in a tight field, just 48 points out of first. In the discus Maliek had to settle for a safety throw of 28.65. He was not able to improve on his subsequent throws.”
“For the pole vault, Maliek had a good jump of 3.50 meters that kept him right in the hunt,” Steigenga added. “In the javelin, he had the second best throw and heading into the last event he was fifth overall. In the 1500 meters, Maliek went out more determined and faster than he ever had and wound up moving up one spot to finish fourth overall with an 11 second PR.”
“In the running events, Anis had an off race in the 1500 and finished a spot out of qualifying for the finals,” Steigenga added. “Sara ran a good race in the women’s 1500 and finished a spot back of her ranking going in. Anis ran the 800 meters in an attempt to qualify but was too tired coming off such short rest.”
“Later in the men’s 4×400, the men got off to a good start with Isaiah and Zion running 49.3 and 49.1 second splits,” Steigenga said. “O the third leg, ArTezz lost both of his shoes and had to run the rest of his leg barefoot. Unfortunately ending the team’s chances to improve on their time from earlier in the year.”
Saturday came as the final day of competition at the Outdoor National Championships and the Blazers were once again active on the track to close out the weekend meet.
Freshman Alexis Hale (Evansville, Ind.) closed out a strong weekend for the Vincennes women’s team by taking 34th overall in the 5000 meters with a time of 20:36.77.
On the men’s team side, sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) placed 25th overall in the 5000 meters with a time of 16:10.87.
Spence’s teammate, sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) finished just behind him with a final time of 17:14.61 to take 26th place overall.
“On the last day there were just three Trailblazers competing in the 5k,” Steigenga said. “By the time their events came, it was hot and the sun was shining, making for difficult running conditions. Despite the tough conditions, Alexis ran extremely well, just 15 seconds off her PR when a lot of runners ran over a minute slower. She has come a long way as a freshman and it will be awesome to see her improvement next year.”
