Webster-Freeman Sets NAIA Pentathlon Record

Juanita Webster-Freeman achieved more than victory Thursday in the pentathlon at the 2023 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The Indiana Tech sophomore’s total of 4258 points bettered the 4153 score that Akela Jones of Oklahoma Baptist set to win this meet in 2014 as well as Jones’s 4194 – the highest known NAIA effort – from earlier the same season.

Webster-Freeman had the best mark in all five events in her record score. She started off with a pair of seasonal bests – 8.50 in the 60-meter hurdles and 1.70m (5-7) in the high jump, the latter tieing her with defending champ Erin Oleksak of Marian (Ind.).

At that point, Webster-Freeman led by 15 points but that lead ballooned to 425 after her 14.58m (47-10) effort in the shot put – a meet record in that discipline. She followed up with a 5.72m (18-9¼) long jump and concluding 2:22.67 800 meters. Oleksak – who won in 2020 in addition to last year – was second in a PR 3769.

The 2023 NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships continue through Saturday at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, South Dakota.