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UTEP T&F wins seven gold medals, Sule earns high point scorer of the meet

Photo Courtesy: UTEP Athletics

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee - The UTEP track and field women’s team finished in second place, the Miners overall totaled 10 medals – seven gold medals, a pair of silver and a bronze – and Rejoice Sule earned the Women’s High Point Scorer of the Meet on the last day of competition at the 2025 Conference USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Middle Tennessee in Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium on Sunday. 

UTEP garnered 14 total medals during the weekend – nine gold, three silver and two bronze.

Sule registered 23.75 points, grabbing three gold medals along the way.

The UTEP women’s team tallied 117 points.

Liberty racked up 178.5 points to win the women’s title.

Sule took the women’s 100-meter dash title, clocking in at 11.26 and scoring 10 points.

For Sule, it’s her first gold medal, while it’s the program’s third consecutive 100 championship.

Niesha Burgher won the event in 2023 and 2024.

The Miners, as a program, last won three straight from 2008 to 2010.

Halimat Ismaila won the 2008 title and Blessing Okagbare took gold in 2009 and 2010.

Sule clocked in a personal-best 22.97 to win gold in the women’s 200-meter dash.

Sule’s time ranks third in program history.

The women’s 4x100-meter relay team defended its title, as Addison Stricklin, Marissa Simpson, Denae McFarlane and Sule clocked in a 44.07 to capture a gold medal.

The Miners tallied 10 points in the process.

The Miners are the first CUSA program to repeat as champions since UCF (2011-2013).

UTEP last repeated in 2008-2009.

Esther Osisike won her first gold medal in the women’s discus final with a personal-best throw of 56.22 meters (184-5).

Her previous best was 53.72 meters (176-3). Osisike scored 10 points for the Miners in the victory.

Osisike’s new mark ranks no. 2 in school history behind Samantha Hall’s 58.50 meters (191-11) in 2015.

It’s the first gold medal for a UTEP women’s discus thrower since 2022 (Krishna Jayasanker).

Osisike beat out FIU’s Michaelle Valentin, who came into the championships ranked first in CUSA (62.17m [204-0]).

Valentin’s best throw on Sunday was 55.04 meters (187-7), placing second overall.

Osisike and Valentin swapped places after Valentine came into the weekend as the defending champion. Osisike finished second at last year’s meet at Kidd Field.

Praise Djoma took gold in the women’s triple jump final, leaping a personal-best 12.60 meters (41-4.25).

Djoma is the first UTEP women’s triple jumper since 2014 (Nickevea Wilson) to win gold. Djoma’s mark is the seventh-best in program history.

Simpson captured gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, making the senior a three-peat champion in the event. Simpson clocked in a 13.10 and tallied 10 points.

The last CUSA women’s hurdler to win three in a row was UCF’s Jackie Coward from 2010 to 2012.

Overall, UTEP has won the last four 100 hurdles, dating back to 2022 when Maribel Caicedo started the run. 

Simpson turned in a personal-best time of 23.23 to win silver.

Simpson’s time is tied sixth best with Blessing Okagbare. With Sule finishing first, it’s the first time that the Miners have had the top two finishers in the 200 at the CUSA Championships.

Loubna Benhadja finally broke through, winning a gold medal in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and clocking in a personal-best time of 56.89.

The senior’s new time ranks no. 2 in program history and tied for the meet record (Faith Robertson, UTSA, 2021).

Benhadja made a steady climb during her career, winning bronze in 2022 and taking silver in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024.

Benhadja is the first UTEP 400 hurdler to win gold since 2019 (Kimisha Chambers).

Aleks Hristov won silver in the men’s discus with a 55.63-meter (182-6) throw. Xavier Westmoreland recorded a personal-best 51.38 meters (168-7) and finished seventh to tally two points.

Amir Williams got bronze in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, clocking in at 14.07.

Princess Uche placed fifth in the women’s 400-meter dash, turning in a time of 54.35 and tallying four points.

The women’s 4x400-meter relay team, comprised of Uche, Sule, Chinique Brown and Benhadja, clocked in a 3:39.84 for a fourth-place finish. The team tallied five points.

Kennesaw State amassed 216.5 points to win the men’s team title, edging out Liberty, which tallied 211 points.

**FINAL STANDINGS**

WOMEN

  1. Liberty 178.5 points
  2. UTEP 117
  3. Kennesaw State 104.5
  4. FIU 101
  5. Middle Tennessee 84
  6. NM State 74
  7. LA Tech 49
  8. Jax State 46.5
  9. Sam Houston 38
  10. WKU 21.5

MEN

  1. Kennesaw State 216.5 points
  2. Liberty 211
  3. Middle Tennessee 97
  4. Sam Houston 73.5
  5. WKU 71
  6. UTEP 58
  7. LA Tech 56
  8. FIU 28

UP NEXT

The 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West First Round is May 28-31 in College Station, Texas, at E.B. Cushing Stadium.

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Adrian Ochoa

Adrian Ochoa is ABC-7’s Sports Director.

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