NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's track & field team claimed its fifth consecutive Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championship, while Katie Stevens and Leo Brennan were celebrated as the Field Athletes of the Meet as the Captains wrapped up the title competition on Saturday at the Freeman Center.

The women finished the meet with 165 points, which edged out second-place UC Santa Cruz by seven. Meanwhile, the Banana Slugs claimed the men's crown with 154 points. After the victors, Salisbury picked up 141, while CNU secured 135 during a closely-contested championship.

On an individual level, the Captains came away with 10 titles, including remarkable work by Stevens and Brennan. On the women's side, Stevens was named the Field Athlete of the Meet for the third straight year after sweeping the shot put and weight throw. After setting a new championship meet record in the latter event on Friday, Stevens came back and took the shot put with an 11.77-meter launch. That marked her 15th career conference title, which stands as the second-highest total in league history. Salisbury's Chelsea Tavik won 16 individual crowns for the Sea Gulls from 2010-13.

Just as impressive on the other side, Brennan was named the Men's Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the long jump and triple jump. After taking the long jump on Friday, he completed the sweep with a 13.72-meter distance in the triple on Saturday. With that performance, he became just the third standout in league history to sweep the two events, joining Mary Washington's Nathaniel Saint-Preux (2012) and Salisbury's Rashawn Markman (2022 and 2024).

Along with the top award-winners, Sydney Trussell also walked away with a pair of titles on Saturday. Headlining her efforts, the senior speedster completed a three-peat in the 200 after taking the event in 25.76. She became the first Captain to win three straight crowns in that event since former legend Karen Simon dominated the Mason-Dixon Conference from 2004-06.

In addition to her starring role in the 200, Trussell also repeated as the league's 400 champion after finishing in 59.08. Meanwhile, sophomore Ellie Nuckols was the runner-up in that event (59.93) after winning the 60-hurdles in 9.40. Later, Trussell, Nuckols, Sydney Chipperfield, and Sarah Bland teamed up on a second-place finish in the 4x400-relay as well. Together, they finished in 4:10.06.

Equally dominant on Saturday, Ashley Eley rewrote the history books in the women's triple jump. The second-year star landed a distance of 11.47 meters. That established a new Championship Meet Record after eclipsing the previous standard of 11.20 meters set by Penn State Harrisburg's Sarah Lehman in 2018. It also moved her into the top-25 nationally this year and marked the sixth-longest jump in program history.

Eley also hauled in All-Conference honors in the 60-hurdles after finishing just behind Nuckols in 9.54.

Rounding out CNU's individual champions, Daniel Young claimed the men's shot put with a 15.55-meter heave. That set a new PR and moved him to fourth on the program's all-time performance list. He also became just the fourth Captain to win a conference title in the indoor shot put, joining Billy Boulden (2006), Ryan Gordon (2007-08), and current teammate Tyler Palmer (2022-24).

In addition to the champions, Christopher Newport stockpiled points in the shot put on Saturday. Freshman Charlotte Waldemar earned All-League accolades after finishing second in the women's event with a 10.07-meter toss, while Rylee Ehrett came in fifth (9.73 meters). On the men's side, Latrell Fomby was an All-Conference honoree after coming in second with a 15.34-meter distance. Meanwhile, Seth Morris placed third (15.22 meters), and Palmer was fourth (14.30 meters).

Lily Knowles also picked up All-League plaudits after finishing second in the pole vault with a 3.09-meter clearance. That moved her to ninth on the school's all-time performance list. Additionally, Elizabeth Lacombe came in third in the event (2.98 meters), while Mackenzie Tate was fifth (2.59 meters).

In other field events on the women's side, Alex Guzman was fourth in the triple jump with a 10.72-meter leap, while MK Harper-Louis finished sixth (10.08 meters). Orchestrating an incredible championship debut, Harper-Louis also scored in the high jump with a 1.45-meter clearance, which placed her fifth in the field. Nuckols added a fourth-place mark in that event as well after topping the same height in one less attempt.

On the track for the women, Sarah Dake vaulted to fourth on the school's all-time charts in the 3000 after finishing fourth in 10:22.14. Additionally, Bland came in fifth in the 800 (2:26.30), Courtney Mudd was sixth in the mile (5:22.89), and D'yan Robinson led the team with a time of 8.29 in the 60, which was the seventh-fastest clocking on Saturday.

"The women put together a tough meet," said head coach Tyler Wingard. "With Ashley having an injury scare on Tuesday, she had a much-needed bounce-back with PRs in the hurdles and triple jump after a strong day in the long jump. Ellie did her usual heavy workload and is getting even better with it. Sydney had two great races in the sprints. Sarah Dake had a big double. Katie, of course, was Katie. And we needed every bit of what they got up front along with every fifth- and sixth-place finish to come out on top."

For the men, Marshall Mattison finished fifth in the 60 (7.11) and later joined forces with Brennan, Roth Thomas, and John Laser in the 4x400-relay. Together, that crew finished fourth in 3:29.03.

Among other multi-event standouts, Eli Wilson was fifth in the 200 (23.22) and sixth in the 400 (51.22), while Evan Young and Andrew Janetsky did fantastic work to score in a pair of distance events on Saturday. Janetsky was fourth in the mile (4:21.73) and sixth in the 3000 (8:53.85). On the flip side, Young was fourth in the 3000 (8:47.08) and sixth in the mile (4:22.47).

Also scoring for the Captains in the distance events, Taylor Dalton was fifth in the mile (4:22.44), while Johnny Atienza came in sixth in the 800 (1:58.03). Additionally, the Captains cleaned up in the 60-hurdles and triple jump. Along with Brennan's work in the latter event, Mikael Gessesse placed fifth (12.70 meters), while Lemuel Avery was sixth (12.63 meters). Meanwhile, on the track, Darrin Gallegos-Perches came in third in the hurdles with a time of 9.07, while Jahi Jemison finished fifth in 9.33.

"On the guy's side, it hurts to get beat. Even more so to get third," said Wingard, whose student-athletes accumulated 43 team PRs during the competition. "Leo had a great meet in the jumps, and the throwers took care of business. We got a great triple out of Janetsky, and we had four freshman hurdlers in the finals among other key contributions from our rookies. So, we have plenty to build on. Salisbury competed well, and Santa Cruz really stepped up. We just need to be better for the Outdoor Championships."

With the league meet in the books, CNU will focus on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Captains will return to action on March 1 for the CNU Qualifier & Combined Events at the Freeman Center.

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