aaliyah mathis at ovc
Cliff Gibson

Outdoor Track & Field Cliff Gibson | LRTrojans.com

Little Rock Track & Field teams take runner-up finishes at OVC Championships

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Little Rock field athletes and sprinters came in clutch Saturday, helping both teams secure runner-up finishes in the final day of the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships, held at the Abe Stuber Track & Field Complex. Host school SEMO won both team titles with the Trojans in the second spot on both sides.
 
FINAL RESULTS                    
 
TEAM STANDINGS
The Little Rock men finished with 164.5 points, behind only SEMO which took the title with 216.5. Eastern Illinois finished third on the men's side with 157. The top three teams were identical on the women's side with SEMO scoring 191, Little Rock totaling 123, and Eastern Illinois third with 92.
 
REPEAT PERFORMANCES
Tyler Moore and Aaliyah Mathis completed back-to-back title wins, as Moore repeated as the men's champion in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.75, and Mathis winning the women's discus again, this time with an OVC Championship record throw of 53.06 meters (174-1). Mathis also won gold in the women's shot put, covering 14.95 meters (49-0.5).
 
NEW RECORDS
Mathis' discus performance was not only good enough to win gold, but set a new record for the OVC Championship and surpassed her previous program best by six feet (168-1). Freshman Aaliyah Booker reached the top spot in the women's 400-meter hurdles list, clocking a 1:00.78, besting the previous school record of 1:00.82, set in 2021 by Ka'Neisha Jackson. Booker's previous personal best was 1:02.08. Freshman Nichole Thomas won gold in the women's javelin with a throw of 45.21 meters (148-4), smashing the school record of 136-11, set in 2023 by Gabby Ayiteyfio.
 
"SPRINT U"
Little Rock continued its OVC dominance in sprint events, picking up a dozen medals in relays and short distances on Saturday. The women swept gold in the relays and the men took gold in the 4x100 and silver in the 4x400. TaVieon Neal – who won gold on the sprint relay – also won gold in the men's 100 and 200, with Braeden Bell finishing second in the 100 and Morcellous Harris taking bronze in the 200. Moore and Booker medaled in the 400 hurdles. Takia Palmer won gold in both relays and also won the women's 100 and took bronze in the 200.
 
OVC HONORS
Moore was named OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year and Harris won the OVC Male Freshman of the Year awards.
 
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Players Mentioned

Aaliyah Mathis

Aaliyah Mathis

THR
Junior
Tyler Moore

Tyler Moore

SPR/HUR
Sophomore
TaVieon Neal

TaVieon Neal

SPR
Junior
Takia  Palmer

Takia Palmer

SPR
Sophomore
Braeden Bell

Braeden Bell

SPR
Freshman
Aaliyah Booker

Aaliyah Booker

HUR
Freshman
Morcellous Harris

Morcellous Harris

SPR
Freshman
Nichole Thomas

Nichole Thomas

JMP
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Aaliyah Mathis

Aaliyah Mathis

Junior
THR
Tyler Moore

Tyler Moore

Sophomore
SPR/HUR
TaVieon Neal

TaVieon Neal

Junior
SPR
Takia  Palmer

Takia Palmer

Sophomore
SPR
Braeden Bell

Braeden Bell

Freshman
SPR
Aaliyah Booker

Aaliyah Booker

Freshman
HUR
Morcellous Harris

Morcellous Harris

Freshman
SPR
Nichole Thomas

Nichole Thomas

Freshman
JMP