Hampton's Vassell, Dixon Shine at Gotham Cup 

New York, N.Y. - Hampton senior Racquel Vassell and junior Reggie Dixon led a strong performance for the men's and women's track & field teams on Friday in the New York City Gotham Cup at the Armory Track & Field Center.

Vassell had a hand in winning three event titles for the Lady Pirates, while Dixon won the Pirates' lone event in record-setting fashion, running a school-record 6.65 to win the 60-meter dash.

Dixon has won five event titles so far this season.

Vassell ran a 7.61 to win the 60-meter dash, tying her season best in that event. She also won the 60-meter hurdles with an 8.46, before helping the 4x400-meter relay team take the gold medal with a 3:45.59.

Senior Margaret Harris senior Leah Richmond and junior Claudia Calder were also on that relay team.

Vassell has won seven event titles so far this season.

Freshmen Cydney Robinson, Alaine Tate and Devyn Thompson, along with junior Benita Taylor made up the 4x800-meter relay team that took the gold in 9:20.71.

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North Carolina A&T's Track Programs Open Indoor Season with Impressive Showing

Blacksburg, Va., -North Carolina A&T opened the 2011 season with some impressive marks. 

Earl House, Jr. had a third place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.74. The time automatically qualifies him for the USATF Track & Field Indoor Nationals held in Albuquerque, N.M., February 26-27.

In the same final, teammate Darryl Williams finished sixth with a time of 6.86. In the men's 500 meters, junior Jarrell Elliott finished third overall with a time of 1:04.46, a personal record and the sixth fastest time in school history.

On the women's side, the Lady Aggies were led by Krystin Lawson's fourth place finish in the 60-meter dash with a personal record time of 7.53.

Jenea McCammon, a 2010 Outdoor 400 meter hurdle Junior National Finalist, finished eighth overall in the 500 meters with a time of 1:16.92. She was followed by freshman Roshel Bygraves who finished ninth with a time of 1:17.00. 

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NSU's Holston Cruises to Two Victories for Spartan Men at Kent State

KENT, Ohio - Norfolk State junior Sean Holston headed up a day full of first-place finishes for the NSU men's track team with two of his own, breezing to victories in the 60 and 200 meters on Saturday at the Doug Raymond Invitational hosted by Kent State.

Holston ran a personal best time of 6.71 seconds in the prelims of the 60m  and recorded a 6.72 in the finals. James Taylor (Suffolk, Va.) was second in 6.81, also a personal best. They spearheaded an NSU sweep of first through fifth places in that event.

Holston and Taylor also went 1-2 in the 200m . Holston posted a winning time of 21.18 seconds, edging out Taylor (21.65).

Those weren't the only wins for the Spartan men on Saturday. Rashad Cannon won the long jump with a season-best effort of 24 feet, 6.5 inches. Keith Nkrumah also earned a victory Saturday, clocking a time of 8.03 seconds to win the 60-meter hurdles.

The Spartan women excelled in the field events on Saturday. Champagne Bell won the long jump in a season-best 18-11.25, her second straight meet taking a gold medal in that event.

NSU also tallied top-three finishes in the high jump and triple jump. In the high jump, senior Jonee Artis tied for third with a top height of 5-3. Alaina Hite placed second in the triple jump with a best effort of 38 feet. Ashanti Matthews was third (37-11.25).

For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com

McCoy Paces NCCU at Virginia Tech Invitational

Blacksburg, Va. - Sophomore sprinter Ashley McCoy recorded two top-six finishes and senior Saquenda Dallas placed second in the long jump to spark North Carolina Central to 11 top-10 positions at the Virginia Tech Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

McCoy placed fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.54 seconds and sixth in the 200m dash in 24.68 seconds.

Dallas leaped 5.84 meters in the long jump to end up just behind Tynia Butts of East Carolina (6.00m) and ahead of Whitney Jones of Arkansas (5.82m) to capture runner-up honors.

Freshman Brandon Addison was the only other Eagle to earn two top-10 performances. He placed sixth in the 300m dash with a time of 34.83 seconds and ninth in the 400m dash in 49.21 seconds. Teammate Jamar Jones finished one-tenths of a second in front of Addison in the 400m dash for eighth place.

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