CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M's Esther Conde-Turpin and Blessing Akintoye won National Titles on Saturday as the Lady Buffs scored 59 total points on their way to a Runner-Up finish at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
 
WT claimed All-American honors in individual events along with the pentathlon, distance medley relay and the 4x400m relay. The 59 points by the Lady Buffs is the most scored at the NCAA Indoor Championships in program history as WT registered their eighth Top-10 finish and their best finish since winning the Indoor National Title in 2018. 
 
Conde-Turpin continued to prove her presence as the top all-around athletes in the nation, winning the National Championship in the Pentathlon with a school-record 4,406 points. The senior won the 60m hurdles (8.33) while finishing second in the high jump (1.68m), shot put (13.67m) and the long jump (6.05m) followed by a third-place finish in the 800m (2:15.62).
 
The senior from Reunion Island, France showed her versatility competing in the long jump and the 60m hurdles, claiming All-American honors in both as she finished the NCAA meet with an incredible 17 total points which would have placed her tied for 11^thon the team leaderboard. Conde-Turpin registered a fifth-place finish in the long jump (6.10m) along with a time of 8.42 in the 60m hurdles to finish sixth.
 
Akintoye added to her already impressive resume with a National Championship in the 400m with a time of 52.87. The Nigeria native would follow that up with a National Runner-Up finish in the 4x400m relay, running the anchor leg of a squad with a time of 3:37.44, the second fastest indoor time in school history.
 
Friday featured a National Runner-Up finish by the Lady Buffs in the distance medley relay as the squad of Sarah Koomson, Helena Klutsey-Carboo, Abigail Abugire and Kalkidan Vincendeau broke the school record by over 11 seconds with a mark of 11:11.26. 
 
Vincendeau and Koomson would claim their second All-American honor of the meet on Saturday during the women's 3K final with Vincendeau finishing third (9:20.22) followed by Koomson in eighth (9:22.92). Abugire ran a time of 2:04.37 in the thrilling 800m final to finish second in a photo-finish. Deborah Acheampong scored one point for the Lady Buffs with a time of 23.91 to finish eighth in the 200m final for All-American honors.
 
The Lady Buffs turn their attention to the start of the outdoor season as they host the West Texas Relays next Friday and Saturday at the WTAMU Track & Field Complex in Canyon.
 
West Texas A&M Indoor All-American Honors
Athlete – Event – Place – Time/Mark
Esther Conde-Turpin – Pentathlon – 1^st – 4,406 Points
Blessing Akintoye – 400m – 1^st – 52.87
Abigail Abugire – 800m – 2^nd – 2:04.37
Sandra Appiah/Emiliia Tangara/Asana Hamidu/Blessing Akintoye – 4x400m – 2^nd – 3:37.44
Sarah Koomson/Helena Klutsey-Carboo/Abigail Abugire/Kalkidan Vincendeau – DMR – 2^nd – 11:11.26
Kalkidan Vincendeau – 3,000m – 3^rd – 9:20.22
Esther Conde-Turpin – Long Jump – 5^th – 6.10m
Esther Conde-Turpin – 60m Hurdles – 6^th – 8.42
Deborah Acheampong – 200m – 8^th – 23.91
Sarah Koomson – 3,000m – 8^th – 9:22.92