PITTSBURG, Kan. – Senior Josie Parks claimed an event title in the 3,000 meters and sophomore Jerlana Williams reset the record books in the 60-meter dash to highlight a prolific weekend for Harding women's track and field at the Pittsburg State Invitational and the Washburn Open.

Competing at the Robert W. Plaster Center—a venue that saw many Lady Bisons post marks aimed at qualifying for the 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach—the Lady Bisons posted several national provisional qualifying marks and high-level podium finishes.

Williams Resets the Standard

Jerlana Williams continued her historic indoor campaign in the sprints, proving to be the fastest woman in program history. After entering the weekend with a school record of 7.50, Williams lowered the mark again in the 60-meter dash finals, finishing second overall in a blistering 7.48 seconds.

Williams also excelled in the 200 meters, taking second place in 24.80 seconds, leading a strong Lady Bison group that included Tetiana Kharashchuk, who finished fourth in 24.94.

The sprint speed carried over to the 4x400-meter relay, where Leila Ngapout, Jayden Bowman, Kharashchuk, and Oreoluwa Odenike clocked a 3:52.24 to finish fourth. The time is one of the fastest in school history, trailing the 2025 record by less than four seconds.

Parks and Distance Crew Dominate

Josie Parks led a dominant showing in the women's 3,000-meter run, winning the event title with a time of 9:59.94. She was followed closely by teammate Dinah Winders, who took third place in 10:13.11. Both times sit comfortably among the top performances in the Central Region this season.

In the 800 meters, Kaia Bieker secured a fifth-place finish, clocking in at 2:18.09, while Abigail Huff led the Bison mile contingent with a time of 5:28.77.

Field Events and Jumps

In the pits, the Lady Bisons saw a pair of top-five finishes in the triple jump. Hanna Onufriieva, the school record holder in the event, took second place with a mark of 11.88m (38-11.75), while Karyna Vehner finished fourth at 11.62m (38-1.5).

In the vertical jumps:

• Cadence Sansom finished fifth in the Invitational section of the pole vault, clearing 3.75m (12-3.5).

• Mariia Yashchenko took fourth in the Open pole vault at 3.30m (10-10).

• Ally Cheek placed sixth in the high jump, clearing 1.58m (5-2.25).

Freshman Hannah Omosigho led the throwers, placing eighth in the shot put with a toss of 12.49m (40-11.75) and 16th in the weight throw at 14.27m (46-10).

Multi-Event Success at Washburn

While the main squad competed in Pittsburg, Harding's multi-event athletes wrapped up a grueling two-day competition at the Washburn Open and Multi in Topeka.

The Lady Bisons featured two NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the pentathlon. Freshman Roselyn Spencer placed eighth in a deep field with 3,381 points, hitting the national provisional standard in her debut season. Sophomore Carly Tucker followed closely in ninth place, also securing a provisional mark with 3,340 points. Kiera Bartlett added a 26th-place finish with 2,607 points.

Up Next
Harding returns to the track on Saturday, Feb. 7, for the Wooo Pig Classic hosted by the University of Arkansas. The meet will be held at the world-renowned Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center in Fayetteville.