West Texas A&M senior Zada Swoopes made history at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track and Field championships on Saturday in Pittsburg, Kan
Swoopes, whose legacy is going down as one of the all-time greats at WT, broke the national Division II record set by McKenzie Warren from Concordia in 2017 with a mark of 58-feet- 1/4 (17.68m) to be crowned the shot put national champion for the second straight year.
It’s Swoopes fifth career national championship between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and she is eligible for this upcoming outdoor year to compete.
Swoopes was not the only Lady Buff to finish on top of the podium as Leah Belfield ran 23.93 in the 200 meter dash to break a school record and win a national championship. Belfield also earned medalist honors in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.40.
The Lady Buffs finished third as a team overall.
On the men’s side, the Buffs landed nine All-Americans on Saturday en route to their fourth-place team finish.
Olympian Benjamin Azamati won his second straight indoor national title clocking a 6.63 in the finals of the 60 meter dash, defeating Tiffin’s Malachi Adams by .8-seconds.
Azamati returned to the track to pick up eight points with a second place finish in the 200 meter dash with a 21.32.
Palo Duro graduate and senior Tyrin Lewis broke his own school record in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles blazing a time of 7.75 to place second to grab eight points for the Buffs.
