De Pere, Wis.— The conference championship is always an exciting meet in collegiate track and field, a time to see what each athlete is capable of after 4+ months of training and hard work. Nerves run high, pressure builds, and there are always moments to remember. This conference meet for the Scarlet Hawks was no different.
The second day of the NACC Championships provided quite a show for Scarlet Hawk fans. 13 different Scarlet Hawks scored points; 6 women and 7 men combined for 82 points—the most at an outdoor conference championship (previous best being 75.5 at last year's NACC champs). The women's team took 5th overall, tied for their highest finish ever, scoring a record 52 points. Among those point scorers, the Scarlet Hawks had 5 NACC Champions and 2 second place finishers.
The first crown of the day went to senior Amelia Moseman in the 400-meter dash. Moseman finished in a new personal best time of 57.19 to lower her school record, beating out the next fastest competitor by over 2 seconds.
In the next race, Ajibola Claudius-Akinyemi won the men's 100-meter dash in a time of 10.83. He is the first NACC Champion in the 100-meters, or any sprints event for that matter, in Illinois Tech history.
It was a very exciting 10-minute period for the Scarlet Hawks as just moments later Annaelle Mukash continued the string of impressive performances, taking 2nd place in the 100-meter dash. She improved her previous school, dropping another 0.4 seconds from her time in prelims to run 12.28.
The Scarlet Hawks sprinters continued their dominant performances in the 200-meter dash later in the afternoon. Claudius-Akinyemi came in 2nd place in the men's race, lowering his school record to 21.72, beating the third-place finisher Ayden Price of Edgewood college by 0.003 seconds. This is once again the highest finish in a men's sprinting event by any Scarlet Hawk.
Mukash wasn't done wowing the crowd either as she took 2nd place in the women's 200-meter with a time of 25.64. She had the 6th fastest time coming into the finals and dropped just under 2 seconds from her entry time to secure the silver medal. Zoe Turner also turned in a great 200-meter, placing 5th overall and running a personal best time of 26.17.
Olivia Jameson continued her winnings ways, taking her 6th consecutive conference title in the women's high jump. We'll hear more from her in the coming weeks, as she prepares for the NCAA Championships.
In the men's decathlon, Finnick Poulin threw in a few more points for the Scarlet Hawks, placing 4th after two days of competition. Poulin set personal bests in the 110-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, long jump, 400-meter dash, discus, and 1500-meter run in the process. His 4770-point performance is the #2 all-time decathlon performance in school history. In the hammer throw, Javier Bernal earned a respectable 8th place with a throw of 41.97 to add onto his javelin performance from the previous day.
The weekend concluded with the long awaited 4x400 meter relay. The men took to the track first, where the Scarlet Hawks pulled together a solid team thanks to last minute substitution from first-timer Enoch Asare. They finished 7th overall in a time of 3:38.12.
With bated breath, the remaining crowd watched as the women's 4x400 team of Olivia Jameson, Isabelle Pullen, Zoe Turner, and Amelia Moseman lined up for the final race on the track. After finishing 2nd place last year and 2nd place indoors, the race was bound to be exciting. In a come-from-behind victory signed and sealed with a 56.2 anchor leg from Moseman, the team ran a collective 4:01.37 to get the gold, breaking the previous school record by 9 seconds in the process.
As the sun sets on the 2025 season for the majority of the Scarlet Hawks, there is much to be proud of. Across the indoor and outdoor season, 22 school records were either set or tied. The women's team had their highest team performance in both indoor and outdoor conference and the men's team recorded the most podium finishes in school history. Aside from the times and records, the season was full of hard work and memories that won't be forgotten any time soon.
Said head coach Tyler McQuality of the season, "I feel like a broken record saying the following, but what a weekend for our team. It literally has been months in the making and seeing it culminate at the NACC championships is always extremely special. The growth of our program in the 7 years I have been here is nothing short of extraordinary and I cannot be more proud of this current team for continuing to push this program forward into we know what it can become. This weekend showcased what this team and culture is all about; passion and growth. I want to thank again all of our departing seniors who have all given so much to our program and I cannot wait to see what they all go and do in the years to come."
"I'm so proud of our student athletes and how hard they have worked this season," echoed assistant coach Evan Balizado. "Our athletes work for hundreds of hours and put all of their energy and emotion into throwing or jumping an extra centimeter or running a fraction of a second faster. The process is what makes it all worth it. Thank you to the Seniors who gave everything they had to this program, all our athletes, current, and future will feel your impact.
Both coaches mentioned this year's senior class—a record-high 15 graduating seniors whose contributions to the program cannot be understated. Congratulations to Ajibola Claudius-Akinyemi, Anand Purushothaman, Andrew Farber, AJ Pandey, Bjarne Van Oord, Javier Bernal, Joey Loriso, Nicholas Quigley, Adela Rivas, Amelia Moseman, Bella Ortiz, Jada Mulrow, Maria Plencner and Valerie Lending on their collegiate athletics careers. Once a hawk, always a hawk!
Other All-Time Performance List Updates:
Women
-
Triple Jump – Bella Ortiz – 9.38m (Personal Record, #4 all-time Illinois Tech)
Men's
-
110-meter hurdles – Finnick Poulin – 19.74 (PR, #2)
-
100-meter dash – Enoch Asare – 11.59 (PR, #7)
-
Hammer Throw – Isaiah John – 40.41m (PR, #4)
-
Hammer Throw – D'Andre De La Fuente – 29.65m (PR, #4)
-
Javelin Throw – Ty Garrison – 40.98m (PR, #6)
Up Next
A few Scarlet Hawks will compete at the Fighting Chance Invitational hosted by Saint Francis University this weekend in Joliet, Ill., attempting to put up nationally competitive marks. Olivia Jameson has already qualified for the NCAA Championships in two weeks and will continue to train in preparation for her 5th national meet.
