Savannah State records Four Top-10 Finishes at UAB Vulcan Invite
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Savannah State University men’s and women’s track and field teams recorded four top-10 finishes at the UAB Vulcan Invite on Saturday in the Birmingham Crossplex Arena.
All four finishes came on the men’s field events with Connor Christian finishing second in the shot put with a distance of 14.99 meters (49-02.25) and a 10th-place finish in the weight throw with a distance of 11.31 meters (37-01.25), while Malik Franklin finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 14.45 meters (47-05.00) and 10th in the long jump with a distance of 6.75 meters (22-01.75).
Derrick Akins finished seventh in the weight throw with a distance of 13.63 meters (44-08.75), while Donterious Copeland finished sixth with a distance of 14.29 meters (46-10.75) and 15th in the long jump with a jump of 6.42 meters (21-00.75).
On the men’s track results, Todd Woodring finished 13th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.42, while Brandon Davis finished 20th with a time of 50.84 and Andre Houser-Cross finished 24th with a time of 51.22. Michael Smith finished 14th in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:02.67, while Randy Thomas finished 21st in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.54 and Morgan Ellis-Foster finished 26th with a time of 8.85.
Justin Leggett led SSU in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.01 and in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.19. Nigel Brown finished 18th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.06 and 18th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.20.
On the women’s track results, Destiny Hall finished 16th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.81 and Asia Stinson finished 18th with a time of 7.83. Jahmee Reeves finished 23rd in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.39, while Tyneshia Quarterman finished 25th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.70 and Kiana Robinson finished 40th with a time of 26.83.
On the women’s field results, Ravyn Mike finished 16th in the long jump with a distance of 5.02 meters (16-05.75) and Miara Elmore finished 25th with a distance of 4.69 meters (15-04.75). Makayla tam finished 32nd in the shot put with a distance of 7.75 meters (25-05.25) and Chinenya Ofodile finished 36th with a throw of 6.66 meters (21-10.25).
The track and field teams return to action at the USC Open #2 in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday.
For complete story, visit www.ssuathletics.com
400-meter Runners Highlight for NCCU at Virginia Tech Invite
BLACKSBURG, Va. – In a Virginia Tech Invitational field that featured teams from Clemson, Tennessee and the event host, middle distance runners were the highlight for North Carolina Central University during Friday and Saturday’s indoor track and field meet at Rector Field House in Blacksburg, Va.
NCCU’s men’s and women’s programs combined for 15 top-10 finishes, with seven coming in 400-meter and 4x400m relay races.
NCCU freshman Kiana Seabrook placed fourth in the women’s 400m dash with a time of 57.83 seconds, trailing runners from Clemson, South Carolina and Charlotte. Senior Christa Landy finished 10th in 58.42, while rookie Jaleesa Smoot crossed the finish line just outside the top 10 in 11th at 58.60.
Seabrook, Landy and Smoot were joined by Lovasia Thomas to place sixth in the women’s 4x400m relay with a time of 3:54.66, beating out teams from North Carolina A&T State, Army and Radford, among others.
NCCU junior Zoe Ellis placed fifth in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 12.31 meters, and posted a distance of 5.33m to place 11th in the long jump. Sherhae Holloway placed 10th in the women’s triple jump with a length of 11.43m.
Also in the women’s field, NCCU junior Jaszmine Bowman placed ninth in the shot put with a toss of 11.75m, followed by Sasha Morphis in 11th (11.07m).
On the men’s side, the 400m race included a seventh-place effort by NCCU senior Kevin Vincent (50.31), while Ronnie Lovick finished in ninth (50.54). That duo combined with Deandre James and James Johnson to place seventh in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:23.11.
NCCU junior Gregory Coward placed sixth in the men’s 5000m run (16:27.19), senior Joshua McClam finished seventh in the men’s long jump (7.20m), and in the men’s 800m run junior Deandre James was eighth (1:56.68) and sophomore Jedrek Higgins 10th (1:57.97).
In the men’s 60m dash, NCCU sophomore Deontae Williams advanced to finals with a time of 6.93, then finished eighth with same time in final.
NCCU returns to competition on Sunday, Jan. 24 at the UNCG Spartan Team Challenge in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Bears Continue Season At Great Dane Classic
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Morgan State Bears men's indoor track and field program was back in action on Saturday at the 13th Great Dane Classic.
Connecticut won the meet with 110.25 points, while Navy placed second (100.75 points) and Buffalo finished in third (67.5 points) at the new Ocean Breeze Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. The Bears recorded a 17th place finish out of 19 teams.
Lloyd Hylton had the best finish by a Bear on Saturday, equaling a personal best with a leap of 7.08m to finish third place in the long jump.
Deyvon Howell, Onyx Johnson and Evan Johnson all finished just outside the top ten, in their respective events. Howell took 12th place in the 200 meter dash in a time of 21.92. Onyx ran a time of 1:55.85 in the 800 meter run to place 12th, and Evan posted a 13th place time in the 400 meter dash by clocking in at 49.14.
MSU is back in action on Friday, Jan. 22 at the NYC Gotham Cup. The meet will be held at the famous Armory Track in New York City starting at 10 a.m.
For complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com
Norfolk State competes at Art and Linda Maillet Open
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Norfolk State junior Nickheila John posted a pair of victories in the sprints on Saturday to highlight the Spartan women’s track and field team’s day at the Art and Linda Maillet Open hosted by the University of North Carolina.
John swept the 200 and 400-meter dashes. John clocked a time of 25.22 seconds in her 200-meter victory. In the 400, John bested the field with a time of 57.98 seconds. It was John’s first time running that distance this indoor season. John also anchored the 4x400 relay team in a third-place effort, joining teammates Chazmin Fullwood, Crystal Green and Jermyriah Jones in clocking a time of 3 minutes, 57.23 seconds.
The Spartans’ other first-place finish Saturday came via freshman Taejah Robertson. She posted a finals time of 8.77 seconds, matching her best time of the season, to win the 60-meter hurdles.
NSU athletes recorded several other top-five finishes on the track Saturday. Tyrika Lee placed second in the 60-meter dash (7.72 seconds) and was third in the 200m (25.68). Janay Fields was third in the 60 (7.76) and fifth in the 200 (26.04).
Along with Robertson’s win the 60 hurdles, senior Jazmine Vaughan came in third with a time of 8.99 seconds.
Three Spartans posted runner-up finishes in field events at UNC. Sophomore Brianna Hayes came in second in the high jump with a top height of 5 feet, 5.25 inches, her second-best mark of the season. Freshman Ashaila Bunch was second in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 37-5.25. Senior Kiara Howell placed second in the shot put (42-10.75) and also came in third in the weight throw (49-7.25).
The Spartans compete at the CNU Captains Invitational in Newport News next Friday and Saturday.
On the men’s side, sophomore Chris Lee and senior Steve Coles continued their recent hot streaks for the NSU men’s track team on Saturday at the University of North Carolina, with Lee setting another school record in the shot put and Coles winning his third event in eight days for the Spartans at the Art and Linda Maillet Open.
Lee posted his third shot put win in four meets this indoor season on Saturday. His best throw of 54 feet, 1 inch was over 10 inches further than his previous school record of 53-2.25 set last weekend at Penn State. The mark of 54-1 is also two fee further than his next closest competition in the MEAC this indoor season.
Running the 400 meters for the first time this indoor season, Coles posted a winning time of 48.77 seconds on Saturday. It was his third event title of this semester, all coming in the last eight days. Coles won the 200m at Penn State last Saturday and the 500m earlier this week at Hampton.
The Spartans had six other event wins on Saturday. Jaylen Carr won the 60m in 6.94 seconds and teammate Xavier Collins won the 200m in 22.50. Desmond Fogg took first in the mile run (4:27.78) and Haileyesus Demsie topped the field in the 5,000 (15:36.60). Demsie also was runner-up in the 3,000 (8:55.55).
The Spartans capped the meet on the track by winning the 4x400 relay. Coles, Collins, Rashad Ramsey and Justin Pinder recorded a time of 3:21.97.
Willard Ward placed first in the pole vault, clearing 13-7.25.
Three other Spartans notched third-place finishes in field events: Michael-Thomas Brown in the long jump (22-6.5), Da’Trail Hockaday in the weight throw (48-8) and Joseph Boyd in the high jump (6-4.25).
The Spartans compete at the CNU Captains Invitational in Newport News next Friday and Saturday.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
UMES men finish 10th, women 11th at Great Dane Classic
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Squaring off against tougher competition was the mission of the Hawks’ track & field team this weekend at the Great Dane Classic, hosted by Albany University this past Saturday. And the team from Maryland held their own by securing a 10th place finish for the men’s team and an 11th place finish for the women. For the majority of the team, times held steady or even improved, and a handful soared to new heights during the meet.
Three members of the men’s squad made up the team’s scoring. Juniors Khalil Rmidi Kinini and Naje Benton notched runner up spots in their respective event, and freshman Jordan Leon finished fourth in the 800 meter run.
Rmidi Kinini ran a 14:39.20 in the 5000 meter run, falling short of only one runner, a Naval Academy student who ended up breaking the meet record. That time qualifies the Hawk junior for the IC4A Championships in March. Benton already qualified for the IC4A’s in the long jump back in December, but his 7.23 meter jump beat out more than 20 other competitors, and Leon ran a time of 1:52.99 also qualified for the March postseason tournament and gave the freshman a new collegiate high.
Additionally, a trio of sophomores on the men’s team obliterated their previous career highs in their various events. Brandon Carter raced to a 52.49 time in the 400 meter dash and Donovan Mundy completed the 800 meter run in 1:56.14. Both those times shaved about two seconds off each’s top collegiate time. Oussama Chouati did even better, shattering his previous best in the mile by four seconds with a time of 4:16.82.
On the women’s side, eight players contributed to the team total in an all-around effort, starting with junior Rachel Halmon and her fourth place finish in the 800 meter with a time of 2:14.45. Sophomore Dypna Umunakwe grabbed a fifth place spot in the 200 dash with a clip of 25.08 seconds, and both she and Halmon helped contribute to another fifth place time in the 4x400 relay at 3:53.12. The time, assisted by freshmen Lenneisha Gilbert and Alicia Coslon was the fastest for the Lady Hawks this season.
Senior Donisha Porter claimed sixth place in the shot put with a distance of 13.37 meters, while freshman Yaminah Smith and sophomore Tanise Edwards added one point each. Smith’s performance in the mile yielded a time of 5:13.26, a new collegiate high, and Edwards’ distance of 1.65 meters in the high jump placed her in an eighth place tie.
Two other accomplishments for the women were the qualification of junior Shelasia Leitch to the ECAC with a time of 8.76 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles, and sophomore Nicovia Carter earning a new collegiate high of 14.29 meters in the weight throw.
The Hawks return to Staten Island for the Gotham Cup next weekend, which is scheduled for Friday at 1:00p.m. at the Ocean Breeze Complex.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
FAMU competes at the UAB Blazer Invitational
In Fridays’ Blazer Invitational, Senior Ashley Ivey won the triple jump with a leap of 12.05 meters, heading a group of three FAMUans in that event. Also competing in the triple jump were Ashley Giacomucci (5th, 11.81 meters) and Brianna Watts (8th, 11.41 meters).
Judith Kibii ran fourth in the mile (5:02.42); Destiny Johnson placed fifth in the 800 (2:14.73); Fridah Limo ran ninth in the 3000 (10:19.38), as did Christina Moodie in the 200 (24.94), and Andrea Aaron in the shot put (12.83 meters), to round out the FAMU Top Ten finishers.
On the men’s side, In Friday’s Blazer Invitational, the FAMU “A” 4x400 Relay team ran third in 3:15.79; Dennis Pugh ran second in the 60 meter dash (6.99), bettering his qualifying time of 7.02.
Mehki McGuyver (15.16m) led a trio of Rattlers in the triple with his fourth place finish. Also palcing in the money were Caleb Collins (6th, 14.91m) and Well Jeudi (7th, 14.74m).
Dennis McGee also snapped up a pair of Top Ten finishes in the field events, placing seventh in the shot put (14.49 meters) and eighth in the weight throw (13.89 meters).
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com