Buena Vista, VA - The Southern Virginia University women's track and field team put a bow on another thrilling outdoor season that was littered with program records, conference championships, and groundbreaking performances. 

After claiming the USA South indoor title, the 2025 outdoor season provided the Knights an opportunity to sweep the women's indoor and outdoor team titles in the USA South athletic conference for the fourth consecutive year.

However, the team was also in search of success beyond the conference level, and looked to vault its athletes into national championship contention.

While the team looked much different than in past years, Head Coach Kyle Chandler expressed excitement about his current group.

"This year's women's group is slightly smaller than the previous year, but what they lacked in number they more than made up for in high quality."

Regular Season

Identical to the men's team, the women had a jam-packed competition schedule, with meets occurring each weekend until the USA South Outdoor Championships in late April. They opened the season at the W&L Carnival, hosted by Washington and Lee University.

The Southern Virginia sprints crew got off to a flying start and was led by senior Folole Torres. Torres led a quartet of Knights, including Maia Hunt, Elise Curtis, and Shandrey Allman to their best time in the 4x100m relay since 2022. They finished second in the event with an impressive time of 50.37.

At the Doc Jopson Invite one week later, Torres ran a program record and captured second place in the 100H, finishing in a time of 15.45. In the field events, Jilane Pedersen, the reigning conference champion in the javelin, unleashed a throw of 35.56m (116' 8) for her best mark of the young season and the teams lone first place finish during the meet.

Things heated up for the Knights at the Colonial Relays as several athletes posted nationally prominent marks. Heidi Barton continued to shine in the middle-distance events, establishing a new program record in the 800m, but it was just a sign of bigger things to come.

Marin Simons smashed through barriers in the high jump to really put her stamp on what would be a record breaking season for the freshman. Her clearance of 1.66m (5' 5.5") was three inches higher than her previous personal best and helped her soar into the top ten nationally.

Over the next two weeks, several Knights produced impressive performances in the build up to the conference championship meet. Notably, Elizabeth Dalebout ran a huge personal best in the 5,000m of 18:45.36 and Folole Torres sped to the second best 200m time in program history by crossing the line in 26.03.

Postseason

Hosted in Concord, North Carolina at the Jay M. Robinson Mondo Track and Field Facility, Southern Virginia looked to continue its historic streak with a fourth consecutive championship. Having won the indoor title by a wide margin, the Knights were projected to finish first according to the USA South Outdoor Championship Coaches Poll.

While all teams were level at the beginning of the first event on day one, the Knights were quick to separate themselves from the rest of the field. They produced dominant performance across all event areas and held an enormous lead at the conclusion of day one.

Throwing was at the forefront of the Knights' success, and received heavy praise from Head Coach Kyle Chandler.

"Four different women won an individual conference championship in the throwing events, which is amazing. Add in the individual championships in both vertical jumps, both hurdles, and three of the five distance events, it is evident this was a high quality women's team this year!"

Jilane Pedersen (Javelin), Hazel Allen (Discus), Surraiya Mahmud (Shot Put) and Katrina Gardner (Hammer) all gathered wins in the throws. Andee Nelson was also having herself a meet by securing second place finishes in the pole vault and javelin throw. A big personal best in the long jump would later help her earn Field Athlete of the Meet and Field Rookie Athlete of the Meet honors.

Heidi Barton cruised to victories in the 800 and 1500 events as nobody came within ten seconds of her in either event. Folole Torres and Shandrey Allman also combined for a one-two finish in the 100H for the second year in a row. 

When it was all said and done, the Knights had surpassed 200 points and won a fourth team championship to remain undefeated against USA South competitors since 2021. Kyle Chandler was named Coach of the Meet.

While one major goal was achieved by the end of April, there was still work to be done for individuals who were looking to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet in May.

After scratching and clawing for every second in the 800m, eventually lowering her season best time to 2:12.74, Heidi Barton had one more memorable performance on deck for her senior season. At the Widener Final Qualifier, Barton used a blistering opening lap to propel her to a massive program record of 2:09.45, cementing herself into the final list of national qualifiers.

Fittingly, Barton's historic campaign ended in the NCAA Championship meet as she placed in the top twenty. Her season will go down as one of best in Southern Virginia track and field history. 

Marin Simons used the momentum of her big jump at the Colonial Relays to qualify for the national final as well. It became the first time that the program has ever sent two individuals to the same national championship meet. 

A picture-perfect start saw Simons clear her first two heights at the big meet, which was enough to help her finish 8th overall. As a top eight finisher, Simons became an All-American, another first for the program. 

Looking Ahead

"We've had four years straight of national qualifiers to the outdoor championships. People have seen it and it has become normalized. Now having two qualifiers will be the new normal," said Chandler.

The Knights look ahead to even greater success in the future, with the ultimate goal of competing for a national championship as a team.

Chandler also highlighted the efforts of Assistant Coach Justice Ricketts, who left the team at the end of the season.

"We are sad to see Coach Justice Ricketts go. He's been an integral part of the team's progress in multiple areas; not just in pole vault, but what he brought to other events including strength training nuisance needs of various event groups."

For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, visit knightatheltics.com and follow @knightxctf on Instagram.