The Fresno Pacific Sunbirds closed out a historic season at the NCAA DII Track & Field National Championships Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Pueblo, CO with a pair of national championships, 17 All-Americans and a fourth-place finish in the team competition for the women's team.
“It’s been an incredible year, and this remarkable group of ladies and men have faced adversity head-on, and they persevered with determination,” said head coach Robert Foster. “These women have overcome all obstacles to achieve the honor of being the number four team in America. I am immensely proud of their accomplishments, both for the women and the men. It has truly been a blessing to serve them this year.”
Runs for the record
The women's 4x100 team started the day with a bang, shattering the previous DII record to take home the Sunbirds’ first national championship of the day. The team of Nydia Chance, Brianna Green, Sariyah Copeland and Shaniya Randolph put up a blistering 43.85, beating the previous 44.05 record set in 2013. The championship marks the second relay national title in school history with the women’s 4x400 team taking home the hardware in 2022.
In the high jump, freshman Malachi Carrasco walked away with the bronze. Seeded 19th coming into the competition, Carrasco flew above the field as he set a personal best and a school record with a jump of 2.15m (7ft 1/2in).
Shemar Palmer continued his dominance, earning third place in the men’s 400m after recording a personal-best and school record 45.57. In his second event of the day, Palmer picked up fourth in a loaded 200m field with a time of 20.63.
The second national championship of the day came from Brianna Green in the 400m hurdles. Green took off on the back stretch, edging out her opponents to take home the gold with a personal best 56.88. Green’s national championship marks the first individual national championship in Fresno Pacific history, in any sport. Right behind Green was teammate Avril Mendoza, who took home fourth with a personal-best 58.90.
For the second year in a row, Copeland competed in a stacked field in the 200m. She took home fifth place with a time of 23.13.
Last year's national runner-up, Dejan Mileusnic, placed sixth in the men’s javelin with throw of 69.79. Mileusnic will end his historic Sunbird career as the Fresno Pacific record holder in the event.
In the final event of the day, the Sunbirds women's 4x400 relay team lined up in the finals for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The team of Green, Copeland, Randolph and Kenahdi Haslip took to the track where they placed third with a time of 3:33.12.
Great finish, great season
The women tied for fourth in the team competition with West Texas A&M with 35 points, the highest finish in the history of Fresno Pacific women’s track and field and tying with the 2018 swimming & diving team for highest finish in 'Birds NCAA history. It puts a bow on strong season for the women who broke multiple school records, recorded numerous personal bests and finished second in the PacWest Conference Tournament.
“This incredible fourth-place finish and team podium accomplishment has been a decades-long endeavor, rooted in belief and incredible hard work from so many coaches and athletes,” said Ray Winter, director of track & field. “It has taken multiple generations of Vikings and Sunbirds to slowly build on a culture and legacy of success to get us to a day like we had today. No words can truly express the pride our coaching staff has in all of our student-athletes that are in our program, and who earned the privilege of competing at the national championships. The eight women and nine men who wore FPU on their chest and competed this week did it with character and grit and belief. It was a historic weekend in so many ways. It is a coveted honor to finish in the top four at nationals, which is what it takes to be on the team podium. That was our goal from the beginning of the season because we knew it was possible. With incredible performances from our sprints and hurdles crew trained by the unparalleled excellence of Head Coach Robert Foster, we put on an absolute show for the country.”
The men matched a program-best 11th place finish in team competition, wrapping up a strong season highlighted by a PacWest Championship, proving 2025 has been one of the most successful seasons in Sunbird Track & Field history.
“For us to qualify a hurdler (Jonathan Biffle), sprinters (Palmer and the 4x400m relay team of Zavian Cook, Damian Smith and Jerome Brown), a thrower (Dejan Mileusnic), jumpers (Adrian Hodges and Carrasco) and a distance runner (Bo Olsen) is a great indication of a strong program on the rise,” concluded Winters. “It’s also high praise to our extraordinary coaching staff. We are committed to being a true track & field program, and these men represented us so well. We are so grateful for the support of our alumni, President André Stephens, Ph.D., and Athletic Director Kyle Feguson and staff."
PHOTO: From left, members of the national champion 4x100 relay team: Sariyah Copeland, Nydia Chance, Shaniya Randolph and Brianna Green. (FPU photo by Antonio Corral)