Emory University graduate student Nikki Boon capped off her legendary Eagles career Friday afternoon by winning the national championship in the women's heptathlon at the NCAA Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
The national title puts an exclamation point on her dominant season as she wins her second national championship after winning the indoor pentathlon earlier this season. With her two national titles, Boon joins rarified air as she becomes the third individual to win multiple titles in their Emory career joining Danielle LeSure (outdoor hammer in 2001 and 2002) and Annika Urban (indoor mile and outdoor 1500m in 2023), and is the first person in Emory history to win the heptathlon.
Boon finished second or third in five of the seven events she competed in at the SPIRE Institute and was fifth in two more as she won the competition handedly. After competing in the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m on Thursday, Boon was back at it with the long jump to start her second day. She took third with a mark of 5.67m before recording a distance of 38.09m in the javelin. With a comfortable lead going into the final event, she ran a 2:23.42 in the 800m to clinch the win.
Boon was the lone competitor to reach 5000 points in the event as she won with a winning mark of 5435 – 447 points more than her next closest competitor.
Elsewhere on the track, graduate students Eva Carchidi and Dawit Dean showcased their speed in their respective events.
Carchidi showed no signs of rust after competing in three events on Thursday as she established a new program record in the 400m Dash as she was the second-fastest runner during the preliminary heats. Carchidi qualified for the finals with a time of 53.97, becoming the first to go under 54 seconds in team history.
In the 800m Run, Dean went wire-to-wire in his heat as he outlasted the field and turned in a time of 1:51.26 – the third-fastest time in prelims.
Additionally, senior Sarah Fineman competed in the shot put where she was 21st with a mark of 12.88m and graduate student Spencer Watry was 16th in the 800m field with a time of 1:53.52.
The NCAA Championships conclude on Saturday with the Eagles set to compete in four events. Carchidi leads the way as a finalist in both the 400m (2:20pm) and 200m (3:50pm) while Dean will go in the men's 800m finals at 2:50pm before senior Jackson Price follows in the finals of the men's 200m at 3:40pm.
