DECATUR, Ill. – Members of the Millikin University community gathered Tuesday morning, May 20, to send off three Big Blue Track and Field athletes on their journey to the 2025 NCAA DIII Track and Field Championships.
Millikin sophomore Kyle Hensley (Mt. Zion H.S.) and first-year athletes De'Andranay Chism (Belleville East H.S.) and Ibrahim Diakite (Chicago Roger Sullivan H.S.) each qualified for the NCAA Championships and will compete at SPIRE Institute's Outdoor Track & Field facility in Geneva, Ohio, May 22-24.
“ When you play football, you line up against another team and know who you're competing with on the other team. Track is unique in that sometimes you could be qualifying against somebody running a thousand miles away, and you don't know. All you can do is to do your best,” said Millikin Associate Athletic Director Bryan Marshall. “What these three athletes have accomplished is amazing, and they are all in the top 10 in the country. That is a great accomplishment.”
Hensley will compete in the pole vault on Saturday, May 24, at 11 a.m. CT. He tied for the best Pole Vault performance in the NCAA DIII back in April, clearing 5.18 meters (17.0 feet). He was the 2024 NCAA Indoor Pole Vault National Champion and finished in second place at last year's Outdoor Championships. In March, Hensley finished in fourth at the 2025 Indoor Track and Field Championships.
“Kyle is an incredible young man, and as just a sophomore, this is his fourth National Championship. Kyle is also a brilliant student in our Engineering Science program. He works really hard, and he does a great job there,” Millikin Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Andrew Craycraft said. “The pole vault is a very dangerous and a very scary event, and you couldn’t find somebody more fearless.”
Chism and Diakite, both first-year students, will run in the 200-meter prelims on Thursday, May 22, starting at 5:40 p.m. CT. The 200-meter finals will be on Saturday at 2:40 p.m.
Diakite had NCAA Division III's sixth fastest time of the season, turning in his qualifying performance last Wednesday, winning the 200 at the Augustana Twilight Final qualifier in 20.94 seconds.
He broke the Millikin record in the 200 that dated back to 2000, held by Big Blue track legend Carl Alexander at 21.15 seconds. Alexander was a seven-time All-American, including the 2018 National Champion in the 100 Meters.
Diakite was the Male Track Athlete of the Meet at the CCIW Championships, winning the 200 Meters in 21.19 seconds and finishing in second in the 100 Meters in 10.66 seconds. Diakite also ran legs on two Big Blue Relay Teams that earned All-Conference honors, finishing third in the 4x100 and 4x400 Relays.
“Ibrahim is just a freshman, and he's been a welcome addition. Running 20.9 is a hard thing to put in perspective for 200 meters. Breaking Carl Alexander’s school record and being ranked in the top 10 in the country right now is just incredible,” Craycraft said. “Breaking 21 seconds is elite.”
Chism's qualifying mark of 23.78 was the fourth fastest in NCAA DIII, and she turned in the time at the CCIW Championships to finish second. She was named the CCIW Outdoor Track Championships Women's Track First-Year Student Athlete of the meet. In addition to her second place in the 200 Meters, Chism was third in the 100 meters in 12.03 seconds, breaking her own Millikin record.
“De'Andranay has broken almost every sprint record she can as a freshman. It has been an inspirational story. She made the indoor National Championships this year and has been consistently, from the beginning of the indoor season until now, the top female long sprinter in the country,” Craycraft said. “She is a fearless competitor and has been fun to watch. We are so proud of her.”
Ibrahim Diakite and Forrest Donnell.
Acting President Mary Black presented the athletes with shirts signed with well wishes by Millikin staff members.
“We are all so excited for you to be heading to the National Championships,” Black said. “We want you to know that all of these folks here today are behind you, and the entire University is behind you. Congratulations and best of luck.”
