SATURDAY RECAP
 
SEWANEE, Tenn. – One of the most intense Southern Athletic Association Women's Track & Field Championships ever came down to the very last event as Centre pulled ahead at the end to repeat as conference champions.

In one of the closest final margins of all time, Centre finished with a combined team score of 242 points to defeat second place Berry by seven points. Rhodes, Oglethorpe and Hendrix rounded out the overall top five in that order.
 
The opening race of the second day of competition was the 5k and Centre's Sophie Bouldin finished in third place with a time of 18:13.51, with Gracie West taking fifth place.
 
In the high jump, Serena McNeilly earned first place after clearing 5-7.25 (1.71m). The sophomore All-American cleared over six inches higher than the next highest clear to get the win.
 
McNeilly picked up her second win of the afternoon in the very next event as she posted a mark of 39-6.5 (12.05m) to take first place in the triple jump, with Marie De Amour Manirakiza coming in eighth place.
 
The next race was the women's 4x100m and Centre took the win as the record-setting team of Amari Robinson, Janea Bottinelli, Chloe Hein and Madjo Doumbia cut over a full second from their prior school record time, clocking in at 46.49 for first place.

In the 1500m, steeplechase champion Erin Haugh was the top finisher for Centre, taking fourth place with a time of 4:51.94, with Bouldin finishing in seventh place.

The women's discus saw Zoey Shahid-Scott lead the way for the Colonels, finishing fifth overall with a throw of 114-9 (34.97m), with Lindsay Jessie taking seventh place.

In the 100m hurdles, the Colonels had three of the seven scoring times. McNeilly paced Centre, finishing second overall with a time of 15.68, with Bottinelli in fourth and Callie Gormley in sixth.

Trailing by 20 points entering the 400m, the Colonels had a massive race with two podium finishes and four scoring finishes. Doumbia led the way as she cut over half a second off her prior school record in the event to win with a time of 56.52, with Bottinelli in third, Faith Peterson in fourth and Alexandria Masden in seventh place.

In the 100m it was more of the same as the Centre sprinters showed out yet again. Doumbia set her third school record of the afternoon as she crossed the finish line in 11.58 for the win, knocking a tenth of a second off her prior record time. Hein finished second and Robinson finished sixth as the Colonels picked up 21 more huge points.

The 800m saw Haugh cap off a fantastic championship meet with a third place finish and a time of 2:20.64. Emma Musgrave finished fifth and Adelyn Shupert finished eighth as Centre picked up 11 points in the race.

In the 400m hurdles, Bottinelli turned in a second place finish with a time of 1:03.24, followed by Masden in sixth and Arden Campbell in eighth to give the Colonels a dozen points for the event.

Doumbia set yet another program record - her fourth of the session - in the 200m as she earned another victory with a time of 24.16. Hein finished in second place in a time of 24.35 that also would have been a school record before today and Peterson finished seventh as Centre racked up 20 more points and added to the lead.

In the shot put, Jessie threw 37-6.5 (11.44m) to finish in seventh place to pace Centre. A strong performance in this event from Berry meant Centre went into the final event of the competition leading by just five points.

Needing to finish at least third to win, the women's 4x400m relay squad took care of business as Bottinelli, Peterson and Doumbia teamed with Ainsley Wilson to take the win with a time of 3:56.05, 12 seconds ahead of second place Berry to secure the title.
 
FRIDAY RECAP
 
SEWANEE, Tenn. – The opening session at the 2025 SAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships is in the books and through the first six scored events, the Centre women's track team sits in second place.
 
The first event of the meet on the women's side was the 10k and Centre scored the most points in the race with 13. Gracie West led the way with a time of 38:19.52 to finish in third place, followed by Sophie Bouldin in fourth and Claire Barnett in seventh.
 
In the hammer, Lindsey Browning finished in fourth place as she posted a mark of 140-8 (42.87m), while Zoey Shahid-Scott finished in eighth place. The women's javelin saw Dayanara Mendez throw 104-9 (31.92m) to finish in sixth place, with Callie Gormley taking eighth place.
 
The best scoring events for the Centre women were the jumping events. The Colonels posted a 1-2-3 finish in the long jump, with Chloe Hein taking first place with a mark of 19-3 (5.87m), followed by Serena McNeilly in second, Madjo Doumbia in third and Gormley in sixth to give Centre 27 out of the 39 possible points for the event. In the pole vault, Lyla Bordwine cleared 10-5.5 (3.19m) to take fourth place.
 
ALL-SAA
 
All-SAA honors are given to those student-athletes who finish in the top three in their respective events. A running tally of Centre's All-SAA performers and their events based on their highest finishes will kept here during the conference championships.

FIRST TEAM

Janea Bottinelli (4x100m, 4x400m)
Madjo Doumbia (4x100m. 400m, 100m, 200m, 4x400m)
Erin Haugh (3000m Steeplechase)
Chloe Hein (Long Jump, 4x100m)
Serena McNeilly (High Jump, Triple Jump)
Faith Peterson (4x400m)
Amari Robinson (4x100m)
Ainsley Wilson (4x100m)
  
HONORABLE MENTION

Sophie Bouldin (5k) 
Gracie West (10k)

Madjo Doumbia was named High Point Athlete of the Meet after her record setting performance.

Head Coach Lisa Owens and her staff were named Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Colonels to their third consecutive title.