NCCU Places Fifth in Penn Relays 4x100-Meter Relay
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The North Carolina Central University men’s 4x100-meter relay team recorded the school’s fastest time in eight years to place fifth in the College Finals of the prestigious Penn Relays on Saturday.
The NCCU foursome of senior Joshua McClam, sophomore Deontae Williams, junior Jonathan Williams and sophomore Isaac Roberts finished the 4x100m relay in 40.68 seconds, edging teams from Morgan State (40.71), BYU (40.83) and Cornell (40.91) in the finals, while finishing less than a second behind Army (40.53), Northeastern (40.40), LIU-Brooklyn (40.24) and event winner Auburn (39.82).
The NCCU women’s 4x100m relay team tallied a solid performance too, but fell just shy of advancing to the College Finals. The relay unit of sophomore Markiara Staten, freshman Bethany White, senior Christa Landy and senior Santese Pryor crossed the finish line in 19th place out of 86 relay teams in a time of 47.14 seconds, just four one-hundredths of a second from qualifying for the finals.
In other NCCU relay events, the men’s sprint medley (Joshua McClam, Jonathan Williams, Kevin Vincent, Deandre James) placed 14th in 3:32.93, and the women’s 4x400m relay (Christa Landy, Kiana Seabrook, Santese Pryor, Jaleesa Smoot) place 43rd in 3:55.78.
MEAC indoor triple jump champion Zoe Ellis represented NCCU with a leap of 11.73 meters to place 15th at Penn Relays.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
White, Track & Field Relays Enjoy Prime Time at Penn Relays
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – It was another chilly and overcast day at historic Franklin Field for the final day of action at the 122nd Penn Relays, but it did not stop the Morgan State Bears from recording strong performances.
With a national audience joining in on NBC Sports Network, the men’s relay teams would finish just outside of the top five. The 4x100 relay team (Fonyi Agendia, Desean White, Deyvon Howell, Joel Roberson) took sixth place with a season best 40.71 behind victor Auburn’s 39.82.
The Bears also recorded a 6th place finish in the 4x200 Championship of America Invitational. Deyvon Howell ran the opening leg followed by Joel Roberson and Donovan St. Louis before Desean White finished the anchor leg. When it was all said and done, the quartet clocked in with their fastest time of the season at 1:24.23. The South Carolina Gamecocks outraced Auburn to the finish line for the title with a 1:22.38 – just .15 seconds in front of the Tigers.
White would also see some primetime shine for the Bears, posting a sixth place finish with a 10.73 in the 100-meter dash championship. Houston Cougar Leshon Collins captured the title with a 10.48.
Next up, the Bears will be in action The 2016 MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships will take place May 5-7 in Greensboro, N.C. at the Irwin Belk Track. (May 2-7).
For complete story, visit www.morganstatebears.com
Lady Pirates 4x400 Shines At Penn Relays
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Hampton University women’s track & field team notched a runner-up finish at the historic Penn Relays this past Thursday through Saturday at Franklin Field, coming in second in the 4x400-meter relay ECAC final.
Freshman Erin Morrison, senior Tanisha Greene, senior Kristian Young, and senior Ce’aira Brown teamed to run a 3:43.98, finishing behind Delaware State.
Young and Greene were also on the 4x100-meter relay team that came in fifth in the 4x100-meter relay ECAC final – along with sophomore Meshala Morton and graduate student Siobhan Ford-Holland – with a 46.70.
Ford-Holland also came in 12th in the triple jump with a mark of 11.85 meters (37 feet, three inches).
On the men’s side, sophomore Justin Beatty, freshman Jerrick Powell, Mohamed Labor-Koroma, and sophomore Stanley Davis came in fourth in the IC4A finals of the 4x400-meter relay, running a season-best 3:15.69.
Powell also ran in the 4x200-meter relay – along with senior Trey Holloway, senior Jasper Savoy, and Darrius Davis – that finished eighth in the Championship of America final of that event with a 1:25.84.
The 2016 MEAC Outdoor Championships will be held this coming Thursday through Saturday in Greensboro, N.C., with North Carolina A&T State serving as host. The Lady Pirates were second in the meet last year, while the Pirates finished third.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com
Women Take 4x400-Meter Relay ECAC Crown to Headline DSU’s Outing at Penn Relays
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Over the weekend, the squad of Rayanna Relerford, Omealla Gordon, Faleesha Dowe and Leandra Nyemeck clocked a 3:43.41 ahead of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foes Hampton (3:43.98), Morgan State (3:45.93) and Big East opponent Georgetown (3:52.12) to win the 4x400-Meter Relay ECAC event to headline the Delaware State track & field program’s outing during the historic Penn Relays.
This performance by the quad resulted in the fastest time for the Hornets this season, surpassing a mark of 3:50.17 set by Relerford, Dowe, Vanessa Whittingham and Gordon during last week’s Morgan State Legacy competition to finish second.
On the men’s side, the team of Kiyair Lambert, Julius Allen, Charles Wulff-Cochrane and Emanuel Hitch finished fourth in the 4x200-Meter Relay IC4A event with a time of 1:30.01. This performance by the quartet was also the fastest time of any DSU team this season, bypassing a mark of 1:37.30 set by David Morant, Elijah Agwu, Allen and Krystofer Ringgold in the Hampton Relays (April 16).
Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will now turn their attention to the MEAC Championships in Greensboro, N.C., which will begin this Thursday. Last season, the women placed 11th (20 points), thanks to Relerford, Ke’Shaun Davis, Sabrina Burrell and Gordon finishing second (3:42.60) in the 4x400-Meter Relay. The men, on the other hand, finished 12th (seven points).
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
UMES Distance Crew Sets Record at Penn Relays
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. and WASHINGTON, D.C. — A more than 30-year-old school record was broken by four Hawks at the annual Penn Relay Carnival this past weekend. The quarter of freshman Jordan Leon and juniors Taj Showalter, Mark Blackmon and Khalil Rmidi Kinini broke the distance medley relay record.
The time of 10:07.81 shattered a record set in April 1983 by David Addison, Frank Connor, Greg Wedge and Rickey Meekins. The 2016 team finished 13th at the Penn Relays against tough competition.
For Rmidi Kinini specifically, the DMR is the third record on the outdoor list that he has a part in. The junior from Spain owns the 3000m steeplechase and 5000 meter run records.
Rmidi Kinini and sophomore Oussama Chouati also competed in the 3000m steeplechase at Penn. Khalil finished in ninth with a time of 9:08.51 and Oussama finished with a time of 9:24.78.
Several Lady Hawks also competed well at the event, especially in the relays. Sophomores Loundy Desire and Dypna Umunakwe along with freshmen Luan Gabriel and Alicia Colson narrowly missed breaking a record in the 4x200 relay, coming in third with a time of 1:37.15. The record of 1:36.50 was set by four Hawks at the 1994 Penn Relays.
Umunakwe and Colson competed with junior Rachel Halmon and freshman Lenneisha Gilbert to finish seventh in the 4x400 relay. Halmon joined senior Jheniel Kelly, freshman Janice Lane (and junior Jennaya Hield secured a tenth place finish in the 4x800 relay.
Two more athletes—junior Shauntel Lucius and sophomore Tanise Edwards — competed in the triple jump. Lucius placed sixth with a jump of 12.02 meters while Edwards tallied an 11.85 meter jump to finish 11th.
Down the road in Washington, D.C. a pair of Hawk throwers dominated the Bison Invitational, hosted by Gallaudet University. Senior Rico Duncan won the discus throw with a distance of 41.21 meters and did even better in the hammer throw, earning a personal record toss of 49.44 meters and another first place finish. Freshman Reginald Young competed in three events, taking runner up spots in two of them. He set a personal best in the hammer throw at 37.69 meters while finishing fifth, and earned marks of 39.47 meters in the javelin and 36.45 meters in the discus.
The pair of meets closes out the regular season for the Hawks. They will now prepare for the MEAC Championships, starting Thursday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com