Courtesy of North Carolina A&T State Athletic Communications


GREENSBORO, N.C. – Lest we forget the ladies. 

The North Carolina A&T State men's track & field indoor and outdoor teams have earned a lot of good news lately, but the ladies have held their own during this current A&T track and field championship era. 

The women's outdoor track & field team showed again on Monday why they, too, have been a powerful force over the past five years. 

The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the outdoor season's first track and field rating index on Monday, with the Lady Aggies ranked eighth in the nation. 

A&T's men are ranked 16th. 

USTFCCCA bases its rankings on where a particular team's student-athletes are ranked nationally in a respective event. A team's relay rankings are also included. A&T's women have three athletes ranked in the top-10 nationally in the 100 meters, and two athletes ranked in the top-10 in the 200m. 

Sophomore Cambrea Sturgis leads the way in both events. Sturgis is ranked second in the nation in the 100m after her 11.21 at the 93rd annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at the University of Texas over the weekend. Freshman Jonah Ross is eighth nationally after her personal-best 11.30 at UT, and sophomore Kamaya Debose-Epps is 10th in the NCAA rankings with an 11.38 at UT, a personal-best. 

Sturgis won the 200m at UT, finishing in 22.87. She enters this week ranked second in the nation. Junior teammate Delecia McDuffie placed third in Austin, Texas, at 23.04 and found herself ranked eighth nationally. 

Ross, Debose-Epps and Sturgis also find themselves ranked in the top-10 in the 4x100-meter relay. Along with junior Symone Darius, the Aggies are ranked sixth nationwide at 44.19. 

Two hurdlers are ranked in the top-15 nationally, with fifth-year senior Madeleine Akobundu at No. 13 with a time of 13.15 in the 100-meter hurdles. Senior TeJyrica Robinson is 15th in the nation in the same event at 13.17. 

LSU is ranked No. 1 in the nation, followed by Texas, Arkansas, Southern Cal, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Virginia, A&T, N.C. State and Oklahoma in the top-10. 

The men are, of course, buoyed by the 4x400 team's fantastic performance at UT, where they recorded the world's fastest time with a 3:00.23 on Saturday. Junior Daniel Stokes, freshman Randolph Ross Jr., and seniors Elijah Young and Trevor Stewart accomplished the feat. 

A&T's 4x100 team is ranked fourth nationally as junior Tavarius Wright, Ross Jr., Stokes and freshman Javonte Harding ran a 38.85 in Austin. 

The other Aggies in the top-10 include junior hurdler Rasheem Brown, who posted a 13.38 to rank seventh in the 110mh. Fifth-year senior Abbas Abbkar is eighth nationally in the 800m at 1:48.89. 

Ross Jr. is among the top-15 nationally in the 100m at No. 14 with a time of 10.30, while senior Akeem Sirleaf is 15th nationally in the 200m at 20.81. 

LSU is No. 1 on the men's side, followed by Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Texas, Southern Cal, Houston, Washington, Arizona, Kansas and Oregon in the top-10.