Courtesy of North Carolina A&T State Athletic Communications


GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina A&T State's indoor track & field programs received another prestigious honor on Thursday. The United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named Aggies sophomore Randolph Ross, Jr., its Southeast Region Men's Track & Field Indoor Athlete of the Year. 

"Junior is tremendously talented," Duane Ross, N.C. A&T's Director of Track & Field Programs, said. "More importantly, he's a great young man. He set many goals at the beginning of the season, and he's determined to see them through." 

Ross Jr. has a chance to win two individual national titles at the NCAA Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Arkansas' Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., March 11-13. 

He will compete in the 4x400-meter relay, where he and his teammates are seeded second by the University of Tennessee at 3:04.62. He is also seeded second in the men's 400 meters as his best time this season is a 45.21, which is also a personal-best. 

Ross Jr. also has a good enough time to qualify for nationals in the men's 200 meters, but the 400- and 200-meter races are scheduled to close together, which does not allow for enough recovery time.

At one point this season, Ross Jr. ranked No. 1 in all three events. Until last week before teams competed in conference championship meets, he held the top spot in the 400 and 4x400. Ross Jr. won the Southeast Region's top honor despite not competing in a conference championship meet because the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) canceled its indoor championships. 

Ross Jr.'s honor goes along with the Aggies' recent recognition in the track and field world. In 2019, the elder Ross collected three Southeast Region Coach of the Year honors. 

The USTFCCCA named him the Southeast's best coach in women's indoor and men's and women's outdoor. 

Former Aggie sprinter Kayla White earned Southeast region and NCAA Indoor Women's Track Athlete of the Year in 2019, becoming the first Aggie ever to be named NCAA Player of the Year in any sport. She also won Southeast Region Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2019.