By: Chris Donsereaux: Sports Information Graduate Assistant
GULF SHORES, Ala. - The Life University women's track and field team finished second at the 2026 SSAC Outdoor Championships. The Running Eagles turned in 184 points with eight conference champions, two runners-up, one single-A standard and one single-B standard.
Team Scores:
1 - William Carey: 188
2 - Life: 184
3 - Mobile: 115
DAY ONE
Life U's 4x800 meter relay team took home first place after winning the event and running a single-B standard time of 9:15.13. The relay team consisted of Kyja Williams, Najah Gibson, Sky Jones and Emeline Delaville.
Moving on to the short sprints, sophomore Payton Knowles ran a personal-best time of 12.09 for a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash prelims, while her teammate junior Zaria Bonafede also ran a 12.09 for a fifth-place finish to join her teammate in the finals on day two. In the 100-meter hurdle prelim race, freshman Essence Sands ran a time of 15.29 for a first-place finish and a spot in the finals, while sophomore Laisha Hernandez ran 17.80 for a fourth-place finish and her spot in the finals on day two as well. Knowles and Bonafede would return to the track later in the day to compete in the 200-meter dash prelim race and once again would prove themselves to the competition and find a way into the finals. Knowles would run 25.55 for a fifth-place finish, while Bonafede would run 25.65 for a sixth-place finish.
Over on the field side, the Running Eagles got a lot of points from their athletes as seven of them scored points across three events. Senior Tara Koonce headlined the Life U field athletes on Day One after her throw of 49.99 meters was good enough for a second-place finish in the hammer throw event. Following behind Koonce
were her teammates, as sophomore Annalise
Leitner would finish third with a throw of 43.71 meters, junior Katelyn Mendoza would finish fourth after throwing 40.01 meters and freshman Sandra DeSouza would place sixth overall after her throw of 35.67 meters. In the discus throwing event, Mendoza would place third with a personal-best throw of 39.93 meters, while her teammate DeSouza
would place sixth overall after her personal-best throw of 34.48 meters. Over in the sand, Bonafede
was busy again, as she would jump her season best 5.53 meters for a fourth-place finish in the long jump event.
After day one, the Running Eagles had some work to do, trailing William Carey by 18 points.
Team Scores:
1 - William Carey: 64 points
2 - Life: 46 points
3 - Mobile: 40 points
Day Two
The second day of the Southern States Athletic Conference Track & Field meet started off well for the Running Eagles. On the track Zaria Bonafede and Payton Knowles finished fourth and fifth respectively in the 100 meter dash finals. Bonafede ran a personal-best time of 12.07, while teammate Knowles ran a time of 12.11. In the 100-meter hurdles final, Essence Sands took home the victory after running a personal-best time of 15.04, while her teammate Laisha Hernandez finished in fourth-place, running a time of 17.09. Knowles and Bonafede once again returned to the track, this time to compete for the 200-meter conference title. Knowles ran a time of 25.13 which was good enough for third place, while Bonafede ran a personal-best 25.25 which landed her in the fourth-place position. Najah Gibson and Kamarra Trisch competed in their first individual races of the meet as both athletes claimed points for Life U in the 400 meter dash. Gibson took home second-place after running a time of 57.44, while Trisch took home fifth after running 59.87. Hernandez returned to the track later in the day as well, this time competing in the 400-meter hurdles race, which she left victorious after running a time of 1:06.78.
In the longer races of the day, Life U was able to dominate and earn much needed points for their team score. In the 800-meter dash, Life U practically swept as all five of its athletes got a podium finish. Emeline Delaville headlined the 800-meter dash quintuplet as she brought home first place after running a time of 2:18.91. Sophomore Sky Jones brought home fourth place after running 2:22.85, Kyja Williams took fifth with a time of 2:26.24, Maelle Spiegel took sixth with a time of 2:26.95 and Carmen Crawford took home eighth with a time of 2:30.25. Delaville and Williams would return to the track to compete in the 1500 meter run, which saw Delaville once again leave victorious as she finished first in a time of 4:41.28. Williams placed fourth overall after running a time of 5:07.43. In the last event of the day for the women, the relay team of Kamarra Trisch, Shevaughn Thomas, Gibson, and Delaville claimed the victory in the 4x400 meter event, running a single-A standard time of 3:47.20.
On the field event side, senior Megan Judge and junior Cameron Kelperis were crowned co-champions in the pole vault event as both athletes cleared 2.15 meters and finished tied for first. In the shot put event, junior Katelyn Mendoza placed third overall after her throw of 12.09 meters. Teammates Ava Falite and Judge also brought in points in the event, as Falite placed fourth with her personal-best mark of 12.00 meters and Judge placed eighth with a mark of 10.52. Judge also took home sixth-place in the javelin throw event after her mark of 31.43 meters.
Up Next: The Running Eagles will compete at home on Saturday, April 25th in the Keith Wright Memorial meet.
