CHICAGO – The Saint Xavier University men's and women's track & field teams had select student-athletes compete at the University of St. Francis (Ill.) Fighting Chance Invite this weekend at Joliet Memorial Stadium in Joliet, Ill. with hopes of improving their national ranking or to hit an NAIA 'A' or 'B' Standard to try and qualify in their respective disciplines for the upcoming NAIA Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships that begin on Wednesday, May 21 in Marion, Ind. The men's team also had a pair of athletes take part in the Hillsdale College (Mich.) Last Chance Meet on Wednesday, May 7, where senior Isaac Sytsma (Highland, Ind./Indiana Tech/Calumet St. Joseph/Highland) shattered his own school record set earlier this season in the 1500m by over six seconds with a time of 3:50.14 to hit the NAIA 'B' Standard. Senior Ayobami Arokoyo (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) recorded his third-best throw of the season, hitting the NAIA 'A' Standard once again with a distance of 54.36m. Arokoyo also competed in the Shot Put, coming away with a mark of 13.65m.

SXU Women's Track & Field:

• In the preliminaries of the 100m Dash, junior Emerson Colins (New Lenox, Ill./St. Francis/Lincoln-Way West) ran her second-fastest time of the season, and seventh-fastest all-time for an SXU runner, at 12.21 seconds just missing the cut for the finals by placing ninth.
• Colins also ran in the 200m, breaking her own program record of 25.43 set last year on April 13, 2024, with an 11^th place time of 25.18 seconds. Sophomore Amaya Rique (St. Louis, Mo./Mineral Area/Seckman) also broke the old record with a new personal record (PR) of 25.41 seconds.
• In action for the women's team, senior Lexi Clarke (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet JC/Plainfield South) ran the fastest time in her group in the 800m, hitting the NAIA 'B' Standard with a new personal record (PR) time of 2:13.32, and running the third-fastest time in program history.
• Junior Yanira Deana Paninka (Canary Island, Spain/Central Methodist/IES Jandia) posted her fourth-best time of the season in the 400m Hurdles with a sixth-place time of 1:05.03.
• Clarke, along with her teammates, Deana Paninka, Rique and senior Olivia Mathis (Akron, Ohio/Lourdes/St Vincent-St. Mary) placed third in the 4x400m Relay with the second-fastest time in team history at 3:57.21.

SXU Men's Track & Field:

• Junior Myles Money (Crete, Ill./Marian Catholic) established a new PR in the 100m Dash at 10.78 seconds in the prelims. Sophomore Nazheer Moore (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) equaled his fastest career time, set on the same track last Saturday, crossing at 10.87 seconds.
• Money PR'd again in the 200m, running the fourth-quickest time in team history at 21.56 seconds, finishing eighth overall. Moore PR'd as well, registering the fifth-best time in school history at 21.73 seconds for an 11^th place draw.
• Senior Julian Rosenbach (Joliet, Ill./Joliet JC/Joliet West) came away with his fourth-best career time in the 800m, crossing the line at 2:02.02. Freshman Trey Maciejewski (Rensselaer, Ind./Rensselaer Central) logged his third-fastest time of the year at 2:16.80.
• Sytsma demolished his previous PR in the 5000m by over 17 seconds with a time of 14:50.09 to finish 15^th overall in his group. Freshman Joey Lagattolla (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) also ran in the 5000m, besting his old PR by more than 13 seconds when he clocked in at 15:53.19 for an eighth-place finish in his group. Senior Luke Snedden (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) competed in a third different 5000m group and smashed his previous PR by 56 seconds, posting a time of 15:18.66.
• Senior Josiah Sianez (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) recorded his third-fastest career time in the 3000m Steeplechase, crossing at 10:14.29.
• The 4x100m Relay Team of junior Sean Harris (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower), Money, Moore and sophomore Jamaurien Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Ogden International) placed first with a time of 41.26 seconds to tie the Saint Xavier record set last season at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Outdoor Championships on May 4, 2024, by junior Ryan McFadden (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest), Money, Harris and junior Charlie Zufan (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew),
• The 4x800m Relay Team of junior Rohindeep Bhattel (Chicago, Ill./St. Laurence), Sytsma, senior Jonathan Jacobo (Blue Island, Ill./Eisenhower) and junior Ben Morrey (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) posted the third-quickest time in SXU history with their fifth-place time of 7:54.25.
• Arokoyo finished fourth in the Shot Put with a throw of 15.39m and he had a first-place toss, hitting the NAIA 'A' Standard again, of 53.44m.
• Sophomore Connor Whalen (Burbank, Ill./Reavis) surpassed the 50.00m mark in the Hammer for the fourth time this season, the only Saint Xavier thrower ever to do so, with a second-place toss of 51.78m.

Saint Xavier will find out which student-athletes from the men's and women's teams qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships when the national office announces the qualifiers next week.