Courtesy of North Carolina Central Athletic Communications
DURHAM, N.C. — The North Carolina Central men's and women's track & field teams had their 2020 spring season cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the NCCU Department of Athletics recognizes its three seniors for their athletic achievements by highlighting their Eagle careers at this time in lieu of a traditional Senior Day experience.
NCCU is honoring its three seniors at this time as the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships was originally scheduled for this weekend.
Jessica Norman is a four-year letter winner with nine top-10 individual finishes in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes during her time at NCCU. She has achieved career-best times of 24.79 seconds in the 200m dash at the 2018 MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and a 100m dash time of 12.39 at the 2017 Duke University Invitational.
The Littleton, N.C., native is Dean's List student as a public health education major. She is planning to attend graduate school to study health promotion and wellness, aspiring to become a health educator.
Blake Hartsfield is a four-year letter winner with 27 top-10 performances (13 individual/14 relay), while claiming three runner-up efforts and celebrating three victories. He registered career-best times of 6.95 seconds in winning the 60-meter dash at JDL College Team Challenge on Feb. 9, 2017, 10.85 in the 100m dash at the Aggie Invitational on April 14, 2018, and 22.03 in the 200m dash at the High Point VertKlasse meet on April 6, 2018. Hartsfield also competed on the 4x100m relay squad that recorded NCCU's fastest time in 16 years (39.94 seconds) to place fourth in the Championship of America Invitational finals during the 124th running of the prestigious Penn Relays.
The Goldsboro, N.C., product is Dean's List student as a physical education major. As a senior, the Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Administration presented Hartsfield with the LeRoy T. Walker Physical Education Award and the Award for the Highest Academic Performance in Kinesiology. He is planning to teach middle school physical education and coach track, football, and basketball.
Keila Robertson accumulated 10 top-10 performances in her two years at NCCU. At the 2019 Penn Relays, she posted a career-best mark of 5.51 meters in the long jump and won the triple jump college finals with a distance of 12.05m. One week later at the 2019 MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Robertson achieved a career-best measurement of 12.20m in the triple jump to capture a bronze medal.
The Gaithersburg, Md., native and transfer from the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) is a chemistry major with a concentration in forensic science at NCCU. A member of the Alpha Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., after graduation she will begin full-time employment at Eli Lilly as a manufacturing science and quality assurance representative.