Track & Field 2/22/2024 1:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships Up Next For Central

Bronchos Have Nine Student-Athletes Competing For Titles This Week In Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. – The 2024 MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships begin this weekend at Washburn University's Indoor Athletic Facility.

Competition begins Friday with the multis. Central Oklahoma will begin Saturday afternoon as the Bronchos send nine student-athletes to compete for titles in eight different events.

Deriayah Lee will compete in the 60-meter hurdles and Jakayla Swanson the 60-meter dash. Treasure Vallerie and Sai Brookins-Fleming are both scheduled to compete in both the 200- and 400-meter races. Genevieve Young rounds out the tracksters racing this weekend as she competes in the 800 meters.

Kelsey Drapeau will compete in the long jump Saturday to begin the weekend for UCO's field athletes. Then on Sunday, Dahsauni Lyday will compete in the shot put and Mattison Thetford and Talyn Been will both compete in the pole vault.

Lee, a freshman, has competed in the 60-meter hurdles in all five Indoor meets this season. She logged a personal best 9.11 seconds at Pittsburg State last month. In her two career races in Topeka, Lee has raced to the finish in 9.28 and 9.19 seconds.

Swanson, also a freshman, ran the 60 in her first career meet in December, but didn't compete in the event again until two weeks ago in Topeka. Swanson has times of 7.77, 7.82, and 7.94 seconds in three career races.

Vallerie has posted a few highlights in her freshman season. After not competing in the first two meets of the season, Vallerie began a stretch of three consecutive meets with standout performances. She's finished fifth, 10th, and 11th in the 200, and sixth, ninth, and sixth in the 400. Vallerie broke the UCO school record in the 200 in Topeka two weeks ago with a time of 24.70 seconds – a career best.

Brookins-Fleming, Central's fifth freshman in the lineup, has competed in all five meets this season for the Bronchos. She won the 200-meter race at OU in December and again at Wichita State in January. Her 25.29 second mark two weeks ago in Topeka is a season best. Brookins-Fleming finished third in the 400 at both OU and Wichita earlier this season.

Young is UCO's older runner competing this weekend. The junior transfer will run in the 800-meter race for the fifth time this season. She set a personal best at Pitt State in January, crossing the finish line in 2:20.55 for a Top 20 finish. Young finished fourth at OU in the event in December and won the 800 at Wichita State in January.

Drapeau is one of the older student-athletes in the UCO lineup with the senior jumper ready to compete Saturday. She has jumped in all five meets this season for UCO, finishing in the Top 12 each time. She won the long jump in Wichita in January. Her 5.42-meter leap at Pitt State in January is her season-best.

Thetford and Been will compete in the pole vault on Sunday afternoon. The sophomores have shown continued improvement in the event in their first two collegiate seasons. Thetford nearly increased her height in each of the five meets this season. She is coming off a PR in Topeka two weeks ago, when her 3.60-meter vault landed her a fourth-place finish.

Been set a PR earlier this year with a 3.21-meter vault at Pitt State. She has logged vaults of 3.15, 3.17, and 3.10 in three meets at Washburn.

Lyday, a senior, will compete in the shot put on Sunday afternoon looking to return to the podium. Last winter, Lyday finished second at the Indoor championships with a 13.76-meter heave. That mark is her best Indoor mark to date. She threw 13.64 in Topeka two weeks ago.

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Players Mentioned

Talyn Been: Pole Vault; Sophomore

Dahsauni Lyday: Throws; 5' 4"; Senior

Mattison Thetford: Pole Vault; Sophomore

Sai Brookins-Fleming: Sprints; Freshman

Kelsey Drapeau: Jumps; Senior

Deriayah Lee: Hurdles; 5' 3"; Freshman

Jakayla Swanson: Sprints; 5' 5"; Freshman

Genevieve Young: Distance; 5' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Talyn Been
: Sophomore
: Pole Vault

Dahsauni Lyday
: 5' 4"; Senior
: Throws

Mattison Thetford
: Sophomore
: Pole Vault

Sai Brookins-Fleming
: Freshman
: Sprints

Kelsey Drapeau
: Senior
: Jumps

Deriayah Lee
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: Hurdles

Jakayla Swanson
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: Sprints

Genevieve Young
: 5' 3"; Junior
: Distance