Principia College’s track and field team sprinted into the new year with record-breaking performances during their indoor season. The team began their preparations for the season before the start of the Spring semester, with practices and meets starting in January.
The program has been quiet for the past few seasons, but Principia’s Track and Field program has a long history of success. The women’s team, in particular, came out with a bang this season. “We’re seeing records being broken in a lot of different areas, which is really exciting, and we also just haven’t really seen that from the women’s team in several years,” said track and field head coach Nick Barron.
Freshman Sana Udoekong kicked off her collegiate season by breaking a 33-year-old school record in the 200-meter dash by running a time of 25.55 seconds in the 2025 Washburn Rust Buster meet. This was the first record that Udoekong has broken in her track career, which only began two years ago, her junior year of high school, when she moved to the U.S. Udoekong said she knew she would eventually break a school record after she looked at the current records of the events she competes in. However, she said she wasn’t expecting it to happen so quickly. “It felt good. I was kind of surprised because I wasn’t expecting it to happen then, but it was just a happy moment because I was able to see the work I was putting in show, and that was really satisfying,” said Udoekong.
At this year’s Prin Relays indoor meet, held February 1 and 2, Principia’s track and field team set five new school records, four from the women’s team and one from the men’s. Hannah Myers leaped to a new long jump record with a jump of 4.93 meters (16.17 feet) in her first track meet as a Principia Panther, surpassing the previous mark set in 2016. The women’s 4×200 relay team, consisting of Mirsa Boyer, Amarachi Ejimadu, Sarah Fakorede, and Sana Udoekong, shaved more than three seconds off the previous school record, clocking a time under 1 minute, 52.17 seconds. Udoekong also set a new 300-meter dash record with a time of 42.54 seconds, beating the previous mark of 43.38 seconds. Myka Fenton shaved time off the 500-meter dash by running a slick 1 minute, 29.10 seconds. On the men’s side, Nana Koranteng shattered the school record for the men’s triple jump in his first time competing in the event ever, with a jump of 14.18 meters (46.52 feet).
Koranteng extended this record later by jumping 14.41 meters (47.27 feet) at Illinois College. Also at an Illinois College meet, Myers broke the Principia’s women’s triple jump record with a jump of 10.78 meters (35.37 feet).
Both Koranteng and Udoekong were named men’s and women’s track and field athletes of the week by the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) for their performances at these events.
Some noticeable changes that were made to the track team this year, compared to others, is the full coaching staff. Now, they are able to give more attention to each individual athlete, where they can support their athletic, academic, and life goals. With coaches like Emily Bay, Justin Halley, Ann Pierson, Nick Barron, and Mike Brooks, each event is covered with knowledge and support for everybody. “I think that’s been the biggest shift this year, that we are able to give a little bit more individual attention to each athlete,” said Coach Barron.
Barron is excited about how the season is going so far.
“It’s still very early in the season,” Barron said, “we have to stay humble and know that these are just the first few steps in a long season, and we’re excited about it, and we have to keep rolling.”
