Pitt State Women Dominantly Claim National Crown

EMPORIA, Kan. — After coming painstakingly close to a national crown indoors, the Pittsburg State University women's outdoor track & field team emphatically grabbed the 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship Saturday (May 25).

The Gorillas hit the century mark with 100 points in the three-day championship meet held on Francis G. Welch Stadium on the campus of Emporia State University. The scoring outburst, spread across 12 different disciplines, left no room for a serious challenge. Adams State University finished as the national runner-up with a distant 72 points, while Azusa Pacific University (44) and Grand Valley State University (39.5) also got on the team podium in third and fourth place.

Pitt State claimed the program's second all-time national championship, the first team crown since the Gorillas claimed the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship at Bradenton, Fla.

Freshman Olivia Vanderweide set the tone early in the day Saturday, sparking the Gorillas with a surprise national title in the javelin. Vanderweide (Basehor, Kan.), seeded No. 19 entering the meet, uncorked a school record throw of 170 feet, 4 inches to snare 10 big points for Pitt State, which already had accumulated 52 points in Thursday and Friday's action.

Junior Diandrenique Gaines also sizzled on the track with a third place finish in the 100 meters (11.25) and a fourth-place time of 23.04 in the 200 meters. Gaines (Port Gibson, Miss.) also teamed with redshirt sophomore Blakelee Winn (Pea Ridge, Ark.), sophomore Taniya Looney (Oklahoma City) and junior Jamiya Morgan (Lawton, Okla.) on a national runner-up performance in the 4x100m relay (44.27).

Seniors Taylor Nelloms (Humble, Texas) and Erica Schamel (Cedar Hill, Mo.) and junior Haleigh Hadley (Gilbert, Iowa) combined to score 13 points in the high jump Saturday. Nelloms posted a personal best jump of 5-8.5 to finish as the national runner-up, while Schamel (5-7.25) and Hadley (5-7.25) added sixth and seven-place showings.

Redshirt junior Kate Dawson (Mound City, Kan.) kept the pressure on the competition with a fifth-place All-America effort in the 800 meters (2:10.28); and the 4x400m relay of Morgan, sophomore Kinleigh Hall (Springdale, Ark.), sophomore Yasmine Johnson (Oklahoma City) and freshman Mikah Edwards (New Bloomfield, Mo.) closed out the meet with a sixth-place All-America time of 3:42.62.

Pitt State became the first school to reach 100 points at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships since Lincoln (Mo.) University in 2005.

The Gorillas, under third-year head coach Kyle Rutledge, associate head coach/meet director Brian Mantooth, assistant coaches Ben Barrows, Jesse Miller, Jason Crow, Nicolle Murphy, Louis Rollins and graduate assistant Kyle Stevison, captured the national title after finishing as the national runner-up at the 2024 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships in March.

The Pitt State men also captured the 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship Saturday at Emporia. The Gorillas become the first program to claim women's and men's outdoor titles in the same season since Abilene Christian University in 2008.

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