Marion, Indiana - It was a historic week for the CMU Women's Track and Field program at the 2024 NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Marion, Indiana. 

Central was represented by 10 student-athletes in 13 different events. At the week's conclusion, the Eagles produced five NAIA All-Americans, including two top-three finishes and the national champion in the high jump. 

As a team, Central finished 10th at the national championship with 25 total points.

In the first two days of the meet, junior Renee Finke competed in the heptathlon. The native of Montgomery City, Missouri led the pack after day one of the seven-day marathon with 3,168 total points. Highlighting day one for Finke was a first place finish in the high jump (1.73m), and a third place finish in the 100m hurdles (14.22 seconds). 

She would ultimately finish fifth with 5,071 points to earn All-America honors. 

Fellow junior Haley Bellamy also competed in the heptathlon, finishing 16th with 3,998 total points. 

Senior Dayana Montenegro ran a new personal best in the prelims of the 400m dash, running the race in a time of 55.19 seconds to advance to Friday's finals. She would shave off even more time in the finals in 54.35 seconds, finishing eighth to earn All-America honors. 

Senior Kailey Johnson ran in the 100m hurdles, ultimately finishing 28th in a time of 15.09 seconds in her final collegiate race. 

Baileigh Morris placed ninth in the 5,000m racewalk in a time of 27:38.36. 

In the field events, sophomore Baylee Beard competed in both the hammer throw and shot put. Beard finished 15th in the hammer with a toss of 51.69 meters and 13th in the shot put with a throw of 13.65 meters. 

Karli Wolfe also threw the hammer, finishing 23rd with a toss of 48.03 meters. Wolfe earned All-America honors in the discus, with a school record throw of 47.94 meters to place fifth. 

Freshman Claireece Cross placed 25th in the triple jump with a jump of 11.11 meters. 

The highlight of the week came in the high jump, as Finke won the NAIA National Championship. Finke cleared a school record height of 1.77 meters to become the program's first national champion since 2004. She was the only athlete to clear that mark en route to earning her second All-America honor of the week. 

Delaney Miller finished third in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.71 meters to join Finke on the podium. Miller concludes her time as a three-time All-American for the Eagles.  

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