CHICAGO – The Saint Xavier University women's track & field team started the 2025-26 Indoor season competing in three meets in two days on Friday and Saturday. The Cougars split their roster, sending athletes up to the Grand Valley State University (Mich.) Holiday Open in Allendale, Mich. and to the Chicago State University (Ill.) Cougar Alumni Open at Gately Park on Friday, while having the full roster in action at the Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) Holiday Open in Bourbonnais, Ill. on Saturday. No team scores were recorded at Grand Valley or ONU, however Saint Xavier finished eighth out of 10 teams with 32 points at CSU.

At Grand Valley State, graduate student Olivia Mathis (Akron, Ohio/Lourdes/St Vincent-St. Mary) set the school record in the 800m while hitting the NAIA 'A' Standard at GVSU with her first-place time of 2:11.10. Graduate student Lexi Clarke (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet JC/Plainfield South) also established a new personal record (PR) in the race, recording the second-fastest time in team history after crossing eighth at 2:12.07, hitting the NAIA 'A' Standard as well. Senior Yanira Deana Paninka (Canary Island, Spain/Central Methodist/IES Jandia) PR'd as well, placing 11^th with a mark of 2:17.20 and reaching the NAIA 'B' Standard. Senior Emerson Colins (New Lenox, Ill./St. Francis/Lincoln-Way West) broke her own school record in the preliminaries of the 60m Dash, clocking in at 7.73 seconds, she placed eighth in the finals at 7.76 seconds for the fourth-quickest time ever in team history.

At Chicago State, junior Isabel Calderon (Orland Park, Ill./Olivet Nazarene/Sandburg) and freshman Alesi Rodriguez each surpassed the previous school record in the 300m, respectively. Calderon set the record at 45.54 second, while Rodriguez was just behind her teammate at 46.91 seconds. Sophomore Mariah James (Alsip, Ill./Shepard) became just the fourth thrower for SXU to surpass the 14.00m mark in the Weight Throw with her second-place toss of 14.01m to set a new PR.

At Olivet Nazarene, Clarke posted the seventh-best time in school history in the Mile, winning the race with a time of 5:12.74. Junior Amaya Rique (St. Louis, Mo./Mineral Area/Seckman) took home first-place honors in the 600m with her third-fastest career time at 1:47.32. Rodriguez won the 800m with a time of 2:51.38.

GVSU Holiday Open:

• Freshman Nyaa Williams made her collegiate debut in the 60m Dash prelims, posting a time of 8.60 seconds.
• Colins bested her previous school record in the 200m, logging the fastest time by an NAIA runner at 26.00 seconds. Rique PR'd as well at 26.15 seconds, the third-quickest time ever by a Cougar. Williams crossed the line at 27.83 seconds.
• Rique became just the second runner in SXU history to run a sub-one-minute time in the 400m, clocking in at 59.96 seconds.
• Junior Rashiya Warfield (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) ran her second-best career time in the 60m Hurdles, finishing at 9.34 second in the preliminaries.

Chicago State Cougar Alumni Invite:

• Rodriguez placed seventh in the 400m with a time of 1:06.36. Sophomore Sophia Thomas (Highland, Ill./Highland) made her debut in the event, finishing eighth at 1:08.47. Freshman Paola Mireles, making her collegiate debut, logged a time of 1:14.43 for a 10^th place draw.
• Calderon competed in the 800m, placing fifth at 2:35.69.
• In the Long Jump, Thomas just missed equaling her PR, finishing eighth with a distance of 4.79m. Senior Nayilea Bejarano (Posen, Ill./Eisenhower) placed ninth with a jump of 4.38m, while Mireles was 10^th overall at 4.13m.
• Senior Jamie Sierocki (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) finished second in the Shot Put with a throw of 12.00m. Freshman Brooke Becker made her collegiate debut with a sixth-place toss of 10.65m.
• Sierocki logged her third-best career throw to place fourth in the Weight Throw. Freshman Alexa Pena Flores, making her collegiate debut, was ninth overall with a distance of 10.53m.

ONU Holiday Open:

• In the prelims of the 60m Dash, Rique set a new PR to qualify for the finals at 8.00 seconds. She placed third in the finals with her second-best career time at 8.07 seconds. Bejarano PR'd in the prelims as well, clocking in at 8.74 seconds. Williams was just a step behind her teammate, logging a time of 8.78 seconds.
• Thomas posted a time of 29.84 seconds in the 200m for a new PR. Mireles competed in the event for the first time at the collegiate level, crossing at 30.20 seconds.
• Mathis just missed breaking the school record in the 400m, taking second overall at 59.82 seconds. Former standout Rachal Brooks (2015-18) holds the record at 59.81 seconds. Colins came away with a sixth-place draw of 1:03.06, while Williams finished eighth at 1:03.72. Calderon was the fourth Saint Xavier runner to log a Top 10 finish, taking 10^th at 1:05.01.
• Competing in the 3000m, freshman Ava Scheering (Hebron, Ind./Hebron) placed second at 12:02.01 in her indoor debut. Junior Alexia Guzman (Chicago, Ill./Solorio Academy) took nearly 30 seconds off her previous PR, finishing third at 12:08.77. Senior Isabella Alatorre (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) placed sixth at 12:51.50, while freshman Jiselle Aldrete (Chicago, Ill./Marist) was seventh overall at 14:06.32, also making her Indoor debut.
• In the prelims of the 60m Hurdles, Warfield topped her time from the day before as she logged her second-best career time of 9.32 seconds to qualify for the finals. Deana Paninka made her Cougar debut in the race, crossing at 10.25 second to also qualify. In the finals, Warfield was second at 9.390 seconds to the winning time of 9.382 seconds. Deana Paninka placed seventh at 10.29 seconds.
• Colins made her Indoor debut in the Long Jump, coming away with 10^th best jump in team history with a second-place mark of 5.17m. Warfield also made her debut in the discipline, taking seventh overall at 4.87m. Thomas logged a distance of 4.66m, followed by Bejarano at 4.14m and Mireles at 4.09m.
• Sierocki placed second in the Shot Put with a throw of 11.80m. James was third overall with a toss of 11.19m. Pena Flores debuted in the event, placing sixth at 10.21m, while Becker was ninth overall at 9.70m.
• James placed third in the Weight Throw with a distance of 13.36m. Sierocki was fifth overall with her throw of 12.76m. Pena Flores PR'd with her sixth-place toss of 11.71m, while Becker, debuting in the event, finished seventh at 11.58m.

Saint Xavier returns to action at the St. Ambrose University Finals Week Invite on Saturday, December 13 in Davenport, Iowa.