Shafiqua Maloney - Women's Track & Field - Arkansas Razorbacks

Shafiqua Maloney

R-Sr/ -- | 5-6 | Mid-Distance | Richland Park, St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Verchilds HS/Southern Illinois

Career Highlights

  • Olympic flag bearer in Tokyo Olympics
  • National record holder in 800m for St. Vincent & the Grenadines
  • First-team NCAA All-America | Indoor (2)
  • 2021 NCAA Indoor Bronze | 800m
  • 2021 NCAA Indoor Bronze | 4×400 relay
  • 2021 SEC Indoor Bronze | 800m
  • 2021 SEC Indoor Gold | 4×400 relay
  • 2021 SEC Outdoor Bronze | 800m

Tokyo Olympics – One of three athletes selected to represent St. Vincent and the Grenadines and served as the flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony … Competed in the 800m in Tokyo, an event where she holds the national record indoors (2:01.22) and outdoors (2:02.54) … Ran 2:07.89 in opening round of Olympic 800m placing seventh in heat … Prior to the Tokyo Olympics, represented St. Vincent at the NACAC U23 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, where she completed an 800m gold medal (2:08.13) and 400m silver medal (52.73) performance on the same day …

Outdoor (2021): Finished ninth in the NCAA Championships final of the 800m (2:04.09) after earning the last position in the final with a 2:03.88 in the semifinal … Established a career best of 2:02.54, No. 3 UA, for third place in Tom Jones Memorial, breaking the previous national record of 2:11.93 for St. Vincent and the Grenadines … Bronze medalist in the SEC Outdoor 800m with a 2:05.56 … Placed fifth with a 2:04.37 competing in the Jamaica National Championship.

Opened the outdoor campaign with a career best of 52.53 during the 400m prelims at Texas Relays … Improved to 51.67, No. 8 UA, as runner-up to teammate Tiana Wilson (51.71) in Texas Relays final … Finished third (53.70) at Texas A&M, second (52.27) at John McDonnell Invitational, and won the Arkansas Twilight (52.39).

Anchored Arkansas to Texas Relays 4×400 relay victory with a split of 50.58 as Razorbacks produced a time of 3:26.63, which served as the world-leading time from late March through mid-May, and is No. 3 on the UA all-time list … Ran third leg of 4x400m relay, splitting 50.41, on Razorback squad that finished ninth in NCAA Championships … Also, third leg (52.04) of fourth place effort in SEC Championships …

Indoor (2021): Set a school record and earned first-team All-America honors with a bronze medal performance in the 800m at the NCAA Indoor Championships … Her time of 2:01.22 bettered the previous UA indoor record of 2:01.96 set by Aneita Denton in 2005 … Also, bronze medalist in 800m at SEC Indoor Championships with a then career best of 2:03.12 … Posted three victories in the 800m to prior to the conference meet – 2:08.60 Arkansas Invitational, 2:05.52 PR Wooo Pig Classic, 2:04.65 PR Tyson Invitational … Entered the indoor season with a 2:08.19 previous national record for St. Vincent and the Grenadines …

Improved her previous indoor best of 55.45 in the 400m with a 53.09 for fifth in Razorback Invitational, improved to 52.94 for fourth at Arkansas Qualifier, and then clocked 52.51 for fifth at Tyson Invitational … Moved to No. 9 on UA all-time indoor list in 400m …

Anchored Razorback 4×400 relay to school record 3:28.07, splitting 50.83, in earning a bronze medal at NCAA Indoor Championships … Supplied third leg carry (51.83) as Arkansas won SEC title in meet record and then school record of 3:28.50 … Bettered previous UA record of 3:28.70 set in 2015, and previous SEC meet record of 3:29.06 set by LSU in 2005 … Third leg on distance medley relay, splitting 2:03.33 on 800m leg, that won Tyson Invitational in 10:53.77, second fastest time in school history.

Senior (2020)
Indoors: Finished sixth in the 800m at the SEC Indoor Championships with a career best time of 2:08.19, which improved her national record for St. Vincent … Set a then career best of 2:09.35 during prelims of SEC Indoor, earning the final spot in the final … Ran 800m at Arkansas Qualifier, placing fifth in a then career best of 2:11.16 to break the St. Vincent national record of 2:12.23 set on an over-sized track by Kineke Alexander in 2009 … Opened indoor season placing fifth in 400m (56.35) at Arkansas Invitational and ran on winning 4×400 relay (3:46.58) … Finished eighth in 400m (56.00) at Red Raider Invitational and seventh (55.45) at Razorback Invitational … Also set an indoor best of 24.99 in 200m at Razorback Invitational.

Junior (2019)
Competed in nine meets during the outdoor season… NCAA West Prelims qualifier in the 400-meters… Set lifetime-best in the 200-meters (24.01) and the 400-meters (54.05).

AT Southern Illinois
2017-18
Indoor: Won the 400-meter dash, anchored Southern to a win in the 4-x-400 relay and added a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships (2/28) … Ran 55.05 to take home SIU’s first MVC indoor title in the women’s quarter-mile since 1996 … Followed with a personal-best time of 24.38 to place third in the 200m dash … Clocked a 53.8 second split on the anchor leg of the mile relay to deliver Southern it’s first MVC 4×400 title since 2005 … Was the program’s top scorer at the MVC Championships with 26 points …Won the 400m dash at four of the six meets she competed at … Posted wins in the 400m at the Black and Gold Premier (1/27), the Illini Open (1/13) and the Saluki Fast Start (12/9).

Outdoor: Won the 200m dash, the 400m dash and helped SIU win both the 4×100 and the 4×400 relays for the second consecutive year at the 2018 MVC Outdoor Championships (5/14) … Scored 40 of SIU’s 160 points and set new facility records in three events (200m, 400m, 4×400) … Marked just the fifth time in MVC history that a female sprinter has won both the 200m and the 400m at the outdoor conference meet … Became the first Saluki to win the Most Outstanding Women’s Track Athlete award since it was first handed out in 2001 … Just the fourth female athlete in program history to claim the conference’s Most Valuable Athlete honor, given to the meet’s top point scorer … Won the 400m dash at the MVC Championships with a personal-best time of 53.19, which was the second-fastest time in program history … Southern’s 4×400 relay time of 3:38.10 at the MVC Championships was the second-best in school history … Finished 33rd in the 400m dash and 42nd in the 200m dash at the NCAA West Prelims (5/25) … Won the 200m dash and helped SIU to a win in the 4×400 relay at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic (3/24) … Helped St. Vincent and the Grenadines take home gold in the 4×400 relay at the 2018 CARIFTA Games.

2016-17

Indoor: Took fifth in the 400m at the 2017 MVC Indoor Championships (2/25)…Won the 400m and helped Southern to a victory in the 4×400 at the Don DeNoon Invitational (2/3)…Finished sixth in the 400m and second in the 4×400 at the Indiana Relays (1/27)…Competed at three indoor meets.

Outdoor: Helped the Saluki 4×100 relay team finish 14th at the NCAA West Prelims (5/25) with a time of 44.65- missed advancing to NCAAs by .06…Ran the second leg of SIU’s 4×100 relay team that won the program’s first MVC title in the event since 1989 at the 2017 MVC Outdoor Championships (5/14)…Winning time of 44.30 was not only a school record but an MVC Outdoor Championship record, besting the previous mark of 44.71, set by Indiana State in 2015…Marked the fifth-straight meet the Salukis had improved upon their school-record time…Ran the anchor leg of SIU’s 4×400 relay that won the program’s first MVC title in the event since 1996 at the 2017 MVC Outdoor Championships (5/14)…Winning time of 3:40.30 is the fourth-fastest time in program history…Southern’s sweep of the relays at the conference championships was its first since 1989…Earned All-MVC honors with a runner-up finish in the 400m at the MVC Outdoor Championships with the seventh-fastest time in program history at 54.25…Had the fastest time in the 400m prelims at the MVC Championships with a time of 54.58…Won the 400m at the Kansas Relays (4/22)…Claimed a victory in the 200m and helped SIU to a win in the 4×400 relay at the Gibson Invitational (4/15)…Ran a leg of the 4×100 relay that broke the Lenny Lyles Invitational (4/29) meet record with a winning time of 44.61…Also helped SIU pick up a win in the quarter-mile relay at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic (3/25)…Competed at eight outdoor meets.

Personal
Born on Feb. 27, 1999…Has two siblings…Intends to major in geography and environmental resources.

Shafiqua Maloney | Career Stats

Career best marks

Indoor

800m | 2:01.22 [national record, UA school record]

400m | 52.33 [No. 8 UA]

Outdoor

800m | 2:02.54 [national record, No. 3 UA]

400m | 51.72 [No. 8 UA]