Prairie View A&M women's track and field closed the indoor season with a strong team effort at the SWAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, finishing fourth with 72 points over two days of competition at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. Powered by an individual conference title from Sanai Kintchen in the pentathlon and multiple podium finishes and school records, the Panthers used a balance of sprints, distance, jumps and throws to secure a top-four team showing in a deep league field.
Day 1 set the tone for Prairie View A&M, as Kintchen captured the SWAC pentathlon crown with a school-record total of 3,766 points. She led a strong multi-event group, with Kimora Maxey placing fifth with 3,334 points and LaShavia Barclay taking eighth at 2,976 points to give the Panthers valuable early scoring. Kintchen also added a seventh-place finish in the long jump at 5.69 meters, while Kaylan Woodrow contributed an eighth-place showing in the weight throw with a mark of 15.18 meters, underscoring the team's strength in the field events.
On the track during the first day, Prairie View A&M loaded the finals with qualifiers across the sprint and middle-distance events. Mikiyah McDonald advanced to the 200-meter final in 24.07 seconds, while Nikiyah Williams moved on in the 400 meters with a 54.97 performance. In the 800 meters, both Nina Story (2:17.15) and Treasure Bethea (2:17.33) punched tickets to the final, and the Panthers' mile group of Maya Clark (5:22.54), Lea Murphy (5:24.49) and Aida Kane-Diallo (5:25.01) all qualified for the championship race. Distance standout Christina Fitzpatrick added momentum by running the second-fastest 3,000 meters in program history, clocking 10:45.43.
The Panthers also earned relay points on Day 1, as the distance medley relay group of Story, Bethea, Williams and Fitzpatrick placed seventh. That lineup combined for a time listed as 3:47.38, contributing to the team total. By the close of the opening day, Prairie View A&M had positioned itself firmly in the team race through depth in the multis, jumps, throws and distance events.
Day 2 brought finals and more podium finishes for Prairie View A&M. McDonald converted her 200-meter qualifying performance into a fourth-place finish in the final, improving to 24.04. Williams delivered one of the meet's standout results in the 400 meters, taking second place in 53.95 for a new indoor school record and the Panthers' top individual sprint finish of the weekend. In the 800 meters, Story placed sixth in 2:14.51 and Bethea finished eighth in 2:16.58, while Clark returned in the mile final to take sixth in 5:17.84, adding more middle-distance points to the tally.
Fitzpatrick continued her breakthrough indoor campaign on Day 2, again recording the second-fastest mark in school history, this time in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:45.82. In the field, the Panthers turned in a series of high-scoring performances: Jada Stanford placed fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 12.17 meters; Kintchen and Michaela Booker combined for a major haul in the shot put, with Kintchen taking second at 13.41 meters and Booker finishing fourth at 13.19 meters; and Jaliyah Gray cleared 3.06 meters in the pole vault to secure third place. The high jump crew of Raina Thomas and Maxey added matching fifth-place finishes with clearances of 1.57 meters, further bolstering the team score. At the end of the meet, the 4x400m relay of Bethea, Barclay, Kintchen, and Williamd finished 6th with a time of 3:47.38.
Full results from the meet can be viewed online and can be rewatched on SWAC TV.
With the fourth-place finish and multiple program top-10 performances, Prairie View A&M's women's team capped a productive indoor season that showcased both top-end talent and developing depth across the roster. The Panthers now shift their focus to the outdoor campaign, set to begin March 20 at the Texas Southern Relays, where they will look to build on conference medals, school records and momentum established in Birmingham.
