EMPORIA, Kansas - Azusa Pacific track and field wrapped up competition at the DII Track & Field Championships with the women's team earning third place overall, while the Cougars were  sixth on the men's side, which is the highest team placement by the men since joining the NCAA as full member in 2015. The Cougars had eight All-American performances on the final day of competition, and they wrapped up the entire three days of Nationals with 14 All-American performances between the two teams, including two individual national titles.

Nicole Warwick, who entered the final day of the meet having already won an individual title in the long jump to score 10 points for the Cougars, closed out her career with three more All-American performances on Saturday, adding 17 more points to the Cougar total. 

FIELD EVENTS ALL-AMERICANS

In the field, Hannah Richardson and Eliana Saunders delivered points for Azusa Pacific. Richardson opened the day in the shot put, throwing a distance of 15.48m (50'9 ½") to grab the fourth spot on the podium and put five points onto the team total. Saunders followed with a third place showing in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.74m (5' 8 ½") to earn All-American status in the event for the third time in her career (2023 outdoor & 2024 indoor). 

TRACK EVENTS ALL-AMERICANS

On the track, the Cougars' 4x100 relay team got things started, with Warwick running the lead leg followed by Kiayra Holmes, Nevaeh Williams and Trinity Miller. The quartet collected four points on a fifth-place finish at 44.93 seconds. Warwick then had a quick turnaround, as just a few races later, she was tasked with competing in the 100 hurdles. As she has done throughout her career, Warwick rose to the occasion and delivered a runner-up finish and eight more points, crossing the line at 13.24 seconds. The final All-American performance of the meet for the women's squad came in the 4x400 relay, where Alayna Verner, Warwick, Mercy Ehiemere and Kiayra Holmes closed out the season with a fourth-place finish at 3:37.74, which delivered five more points for the team that allowed Azusa Pacific to jump from fourth to third in the team standings. 

On the men's side, the Cougars picked up 10 points from the distance crew of Juan Diego Castro, Ben Sumner and Felix Perrier. In the 1500m, Castro was the sixth runner across the line for three points, posting a time of 3:55.10. A little over an hour later, Sumner became an All-American in the 800 for the second-consecutive season, as he ran a time of 1:50.73 to grab sixth place and tally three more points. Perrier then closed out his weekend with his second All-American effort, running the 5K in a time of 14:42.68 to place fifth overall and deliver four final points for the men's squad. Perrier wrapped up his weekend nine points total, as he was the fourth-place finisher in steeplechase on Friday,

HISTORICAL SHOWINGS

Warwick finished the meet with four All-American performances and 27 total points for the Cougars. The meet was a final exclamation point on her outstanding career at Azusa Pacific, as she ends her time with the Cougars as a 17-time All-American between indoor and outdoors (nine-time outdoor, eight-time indoor), and a three-time individual national champion ('23 indoor pentathlon, '24 indoor long jump, '24 outdoor long jump). Warwick's 17 All-American honors is the third-most in program history, as only Vivian Chukwuemeka (2002-06) and Brianna Carstensen (2002-05) had more with 18 each. 

The men's squad had its best-ever finish in the NCAA era (started in 2015), as the Cougars previous best-showing at NCAA Nationals was in 2016 with a ninth-place finish. The men had a total of seven All-American efforts, which matches the program's most in the NCAA era. 

For the fourth-consecutive time at outdoor Nationals, the women's team finished top-six overall, as they were the national champions in 2021 and in 2023, with a sixth-place finish in between in 2022. The women have also had at least one individual national champion in each of those four seasons.

MEET SCORING BREAKDOWN (All-Americans)

WOMEN (44 TOTAL POINTS)

27 points: Nicole Warwick (10 points - 1st - Long Jump | 8 points - 2nd - 100m hurdles | 5 points - 4th - 4x400 relay | 4 points - 5th - 4x100 relay)
9 points: Kiayra Holmes (5 points - 4th - 4x400 relay | 4 points - 5th - 4x100 relay)
6 points: Eliana Saunders (6 points - 3rd - High Jump)
6 points: Alysa Henry (6 points - 3rd - Heptathlon)
5 points: Hannah Richardson (5 points - 4th - Shot Put)
5 points: Alayna Verner (5 points - 4th - 4x400 relay)
5 points: Mercy Ehiemere (5 points - 4th - 4x400 relay)
4 points: Nevaeh Williams (4 points - 5th - 4x100 relay)
4 points: Trinity Miller (4 points - 5th - 4x100 relay)

MEN (32 TOTAL POINTS)
10 points: Jermel Jones II (10 points - 1st - Long Jump)
9 points: Felix Perrier (5 points - 4th - Steeplechase | 4 points - 5th - 5K )
4 points: Lincoln Krog (4 points - 5th - Decathlon)
3 points: Nixon Korir (3 points - 6th - Steeplechase)
3 points: Juan Diego Castro (3 points - 6th - 1500m)
3 points: Ben Sumner (3 points - 6th - 800m)