The Central Methodist Track and Field program made history last Saturday afternoon as the women claimed their first Heart Indoor Conference Championship ever in Maryville, Mo. 

The women placed first out of 12 teams with 156 total points, while the men finished sixth of 13 teams with 76 points.  

The CMU women just edged out Grand View for the championship. The Vikings finished the weekend with 151 total points, followed by MidAmerica Nazarene with 126 points. Grand View won the men's team title for the third straight year with 223.5 points, followed by Benedictine with 106, and Baker with 87 points. 

The highlight on the women's side was sophomore sprinter Kailey Johnson, who was the highest point scorer for the second year in a row with 38 total points. 

The Columbia, Mo. native placed first in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.80, a new school record. This was followed by a first-place finish in the 60m dash in a time of 7.72 and a first-place standing in the long jump with a mark of 5.49m.

Kailey also took third in the 200m dash with a time of 25.68 and earned second in the 4x400m relay, clocking in at 3:59.40 with teammates freshman Jessica Bailey,  sophomore Dayana Montenegro, and freshman Rhakala Blackmon. 

Freshman Megan Aubuchon joined Johnson on the podium with a third place finish in the 60m hurdles with a final time of 9.11 seconds. 

Junior Kaitlyn Weber was crowned the conference champion in the triple jump at 11.38 meters, good enough to hit the 'B' standard for the national championships. Freshman Sadie Heisner finished third in the event with a mark of 11.03 meters. 

Weber also posted a third place finish in the long jump at 5.29 meters, while freshman Carter Hawkins won the pole vault with an NAIA 'B' standard mark of 3.42 meters. Heisner joined Hawkins on the podium with a second place standing at 3.27 meters. 

Sophomore Lilian Patterson earned a second place standing in the 3000m racewalk at 18:16.90. Montenegro hit the 'A' standard in the 600m run with a time 1:35.99 seconds. 

On the men's side, senior thrower Taylor Bottomley won both the men's shot put and weight throw. In the shot put, the senior out of Harrisburg, Mo., hit the 'A' standard with a final mark of 16.08 meters, and a record breaking throw in the weight throw at 21.66 meters, the best throw in the nation this season. 

Freshman Ethan Smith won the heptathlon with 4586 points, claiming victory in both the 1000m run and the shot put. Senior Mohammed Nyaoga placed third in the 400m dash at 49.39 seconds. He joined the 4x400m relay team of  senior Curtis Johns, senior Alexander Ayala, and freshman Adam Trachsel that earned a silver medal with a time of 3.19.33 seconds. 

The top three finishers in each event will be considered 2022 Heart Indoor Track & Field All-Conference athletes. First Place will be considered First Team All-Conference, second place will be considered Second Team All-Conference, and third place will be considered Third Team All-Conference. Fourth, fifth, and sixth place finishers in each event will be considered 2022 Heart Indoor Track & Field Honorable Mention All-Conference.

The Eagles will turn their attention to the NAIA Indoor National Championships set to take place March 3-5 in Brookings, S.D.