Maryville, Mo.—The University of Saint Mary Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field team kicked off their 2025-2026 season in style at the Mel Tjeerdsma Classic hosted by Northwest Missouri State.

It was a record-breaking opening weekend starting with senior Deslyne Cooper and a massive first outing of the year, claiming 3^rd place overall in the women's 200m race with a final time of 25.20 earning herself a place in the Spire record books breaking the previously held record by Gretchen Raney in 2025 with a final time of 25.22. Fellow senior Haley Sampson impressively took 3^rd place overall in the women's long jump, leaping 5.46m to break another USM record previously held by Jayda Cooper in 2022 when she recorded a 5.40m jump. Freshman men's standout Omarion Udell shined bright in the 60m men's hurdles, finishing 4^th overall with a blazing finish of 8.47, breaking yet another Spire record previously held by Onaja Robinson from 2020 with a finals time of 8.57.
 
Continuing on with the weekend accomplishments, Carly Holadia made her mark in the women's 1,000m finishing in 1^st place overall with an impressive 2:59.31 finish. This gritty performance would earn Holadia an NAIA B standard, with many more dominant outings to come.

Spire track & field will squeeze in another meet before the holiday break in the Concordia Early Bird Meet in Concordia, Nebraska this Friday, December 12th and Saturday, December 13th. With another thrilling weekend of competition just around the corner, please follow along with the live stats here Concordia Early Bird Invite - Dec 12 – 13, 2025 | Black Squirrel Timing. 

For a full list of results from the weekend, please visit Events - Mel Tjeerdsma Classic - Dec 6, 2025 | Black Squirrel Timing.