Western track brings record group to national championships
May 24—Hanna Williams admittedly came into the season with high hopes for Missouri Western's 4x100-meter relay team.
The moment she knew it was a group that could qualify for nationals: "When we first started running," Williams said.
That group, which includes freshman Aneesa Abdul-Hameed, sophomore Aniya Kollore and senior Savannah Simmons alongside Williams, is part of a group of seven Griffons representing the program at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week in Allendale, Michigan.
This is the fifth overall appearance (third outdoor) at a national championship meet for Williams. Senior shot put star Jordan Garr is making his outdoor debut after two trips to indoor nationals.
The other relay pieces, along with freshman Madison Nash (10,000-meter) and junior Nate Daugherty-Parrish (discus) are making their NCAA Championships debut.
In just the fifth year of the program, those inside are shocked by the rapid growth, which included the women finishing sixth at the MIAA Championships.
"It's been really cool to see everything grow and everybody come together, everyone's personalities start to show," Simmons said, "Kind of like a group and connecting. It's been cool."
Williams will run in the 400, as well, as her storied career comes to an end. She competed in the event at nationals in 2019 and '21, coming in eighth place for All-American status last season. Williams and Nash won outdoor MIAA championships this year, and Williams won the indoor 400 at the MIAA Championships on her way to placing seventh at nationals.
On Monday, she took part in her final practice in St. Joe before departing on a flight to Michigan early Tuesday morning.
"I don't think anything will hit until probably next year," Williams said. "Next year, I'll see everybody else run and not me."
Seeing Western's record group advance to the NCAAs with hopes of multiple All-American showings brings a sense of pride over the coaching staff.
"We've come a long way," head coach Cody Ingold said. "We were talking about it after declarations came out that we were so close in other areas too. It shows that we've made the jump.
"We made the comment last year that we were gonna come back in '22 with a crew."
The NCAA Championships will take place May 26-28 at Grand Valley State.
Brandon Zenner can be reached at brandon.zenner@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowZenner.
