The John Brown University women’s track and field team etched its name in program history with a thrilling come-from-behind victory at the Sooner Athletic Conference outdoor championships, edging second-place Oklahoma City by a single point, 109-108.
The Golden Eagles entered Saturday’s final day trailing first by eight points, sitting in third place with 57 following Friday’s competition. JBU delivered a remarkable 52-point surge on the championship’s final day to complete the historic title run in just its fifth season. The women’s 400-meter relay team of junior Emma Morton, senior Mikey Duncan, sophomore Hannah Foster and Anna Keys ’25 rose to the occasion, securing the critical fifth-place finish needed to clinch the program’s first-ever conference crown. Keys provided the defining moment of the championship, outpacing Oklahoma City’s anchor down the final straightaway.
The Golden Eagles secured seven podium finishes throughout the weekend, anchored by individual championships from Keys in the 800-meter (2:19.93, fourth-fastest in program history), Evie Scoles ’25 in both the hammer throw and shot put, and Grace Mitchell ’25 in the pole vault. Keys’ gold-medal performance in the 800-meter highlighted a dominant middle-distance showing that included a seventh-place finish from Duncan (2:27.33, sixth-best in program history). Junior Hope Ahnfeldt delivered a clutch third-place finish in the 5,000-meter (19:45.16), with Emma Brown ’25 and junior Paige Andrews finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the field events, senior Nikki Basye rewrote the program record books twice in the triple jump (9.83 meters, fourth place) and javelin throw (31.70 meters, second place), while Scoles captured her second individual title with a program-record 13.11 meter shot put performance.
Head coach Peter Cunningham would later earn the SAC women’s track & field Coach of the Year honors at the conclusion of the meet.