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NEW ORLEANS – The University of West Alabama's Yakubu Balikis has been selected as the Women's South Region Track Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association on Monday afternoon. 

Recently earning First Team All-American honors in the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Division II Championships in Emporia, Kansas, the Lagos, Nigeria native finished as the top sprinter in the region for both events.

At the national championships, she finished fourth in the 100 with an 11.26 and seventh with a time of 23.32 in the 200.

The graduate student also set new UWA marks in the sprints, clocking in at 11.26 seconds in the 100 and 23.16 in the 200. 

Earlier this year, Balikis was an All-Region selection and was unanimously named the Gulf South Conference Track Athlete of the Year with nine gold medals and 14 total over the course of the 2024 season. 

Balikis became the first UWA student-athlete to earn All-American in two events, and she is the third student-athlete to achieve this feat in program history.