Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Penn Relays
Fink Wins Army’s First Women’s Penn Relay Wheel in Program History
April 26, 2025 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Army Track and Field finished competition at the annual Penn Relays hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at Historic Franklin Field.
Army's success at the meet came in the field portion events, with five top-10 finishes.
Senior Emily Fink made history for the Black Knights, taking home the first wheel from the Penn Relays since 1954, the 11th in program history and the first on the women's side for the track and field program. Fink threw a 65.95m (216' 4") on her second throw of the hammer throw that would go on to claim the first championship in any event for Army on the women's side.
Fink followed up her success in the hammer throw setting a new program record on her first throw of the shot put with a 16.12m (52' 10.75"), eventually coming in second in the event.
The throw broke her previous program record of 15.75m (51' 8.25"), most recently set this season against Navy at the Star Meet. Also, in the shot put, sophomore Jordan Hecht threw a 15.82m (51 11") to come in fourth place.
In the women's discus throw, senior Sophia Dystra threw a 51.42m (168' 8") to come in ninth place.
On the men's side, junior Robby Manse came in ninth with his fourth throw of the event of a distance of 17.14m (56' 2.75").
Up Next
The Black Knights track and field team will now turn their attention to the Patriot League Outdoor Championships hosted by Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. from May 2 through May 3.
Hear From Coach Smith:
We sent four athletes to the final day of the Penn Relays. Jacob Bowersock '26 competed in the championship men's discus, Emily Fink '25 and Jordan Hecht '27 were entered in the championship women's shot put and Sophia Dykstra '25 was our lone contestant in the championship women's discus. In rain and slick conditions, our group did quite well. Jacob had a solid day. Sophia had the best series of her life and threw very close to our school record for the 2nd week in a row. She is very close to getting that record and each time she steps in the ring she is a threat to throw very far. Jordan Hecht threw farther than any Army woman in the history of our program except Emily Fink. More about Emily later. Jordan has been on a tear this spring. She has significant talent and a relentless motor and now as we enter the championship season, her throws are going further. She sets her sights on winning in whatever she does. She loves having Emily to chase and together they are charging forward in the shot put. The undeniable star of the weekend was Emily Fink '25.
"Follow me!" Is the motto of the infantry branch. The infantry is the oldest branch of the United States Army and in May of this year that branch will welcome Emily Fink '25 into its ranks. Emily chose the infantry for a variety of reasons, but I suspect the driving force for her in her decision was the challenge of testing her limits. Unlike water which chooses the path of least resistance, Emily Fink is constantly looking for obstacles to overcome. Emily doesn't do easy. So today in Philadelphia, on the final day of the Penn Relays, in conditions that could be best described as intolerable, I think Emily Fink was feeling just fine. During the championship women's shot put, the rain was at times relentless, flooding the ring and making it impossible to keep the shot put dry. True to the motto of the infantry, Emily led from the front, stepping into the ring on her first attempt and launching a new Academy record of 16.12 meters (52' 10.75") eclipsing her own mark set her plebe year (2022). She held onto the lead for the first three rounds of the event dropping to 2nd place in round 4. It was the best 6 throw series of her career. She dominated the throws this weekend at the most prestigious meet in the country. And while most normal people would celebrate the championship on Thursday and the Academy record today, somehow, I think Emily is far from satisfied. She expects to throw farther and win more. Our team takes its cues from Emily Fink. We "follow her". There is more work to do.
The Penn Relays carnival was first contested in 1895. Army has been competing at this meet since the inception of the track and field program in the 1920's. And while relay events are often the marquee events of the meet, there are individual event championships as well. We have not fully attended the Penn Relays in recent years because it takes place the week before the Patriot League conference championship. This year, we felt like we had some top-level people who would benefit from the elite competitive focus of the meet. We entered Emily Fink '25, Robby Manse '26, Jacob Bowersock '26, Jordan Hecht '27, Sophia Dykstra '25, Charlotte Richman '26, and Mikayla Cheney '27.
Today we had great weather and good competitive efforts in the men's hammer (Manse) and the women's 1500 (Richman, Cheney), but it was the women's hammer that provided the most outstanding performance of the day. Emily Fink has been one of the most dominant hammer throwers in the NCAA this spring. She is currently ranked No.7 in the NCAA and today she competed against a strong field of East Coast throwers in the women's championship hammer throw. The meet was over after her first throw (65.21m). She bettered that mark with a second-round throw of 65.95m (216' 4"). Emily has thrown farther this spring and she has won most of the hammer throw competitions that she has entered, but the Penn Relays is on another level. This is a significant accomplishment. I don't know the complete history of our team at this meet so I am struggling to draw a comparison to our history at the Penn Relays.
I know that the Army men have won 10 relay championships at this meet, the most recent coming in 1954. But I don't know that our women have won any Penn Relays titles since Diana Wills '90 was winning the triple jump and long jump titles from 1987-90. Today might be the first in the last 20-25 years. I don't know for sure. In any case, what Emily did today was not only a dominating performance (she won by three meters) but it was a win against other NCAA-caliber women head-to-head. That matters.
Emily has always been capable of throwing far. She has demonstrated enormous potential for a number of years now. The difference this year is her consistency. She is putting multiple big throws together in a series each week. She put up not just one solid mark but several in a series. She is becoming a more complete thrower. She will return to the ring on Saturday to test herself in the women's shot put championship.
Players Mentioned
