| Freshman Michael Dickson once again showed his promise within the program as he smashed the previous school record three times in the 110-meter hurdles as the North Carolina A&T men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
Todd Townsend set the record to 14.13 in 2014, but during the preliminaries at Georgia Tech, Dickson lowered it to 13.91. In the semifinals it was dropped again to 13.89, and then finally settled at 13.67 as Dickson took first in the finals. For the women, freshmen Kayla White also championed the hurdles. In the 100mh, White set a personal record (PR) of 13.37 during the preliminaries before winning the event in 13.41.
Both the men and women were just as victorious in the 100. For the guys, junior Christopher Belcher titled the event after a gradual elevation. Belcher was seventh in the preliminaries, sixth in the semifinals and then a 10.33 in the finals landed him first. Sophomore India Brown had a different approach, but the same outcome. Brown was first in the semifinals after running an 11.57 and then winning the final with an 11.62 mark.
“I think it went good overall but we need to improve in some areas,” said the director of track and field programs, Duane Ross. “We keep working toward being a complete team. We’re kind of one dimensional in the sprints. That’s where we score a lot of the points.”
In the 4x100 meter relay, Yakira Love, White, Morgan Knight and Brown earned second in a 45.34 team finish. Junior Dorian Claggett ran the 400 and ended 14th in 47.98; his previous low was set at 48.48 in 2014. Outside of sprints, the Aggies found little accolades. There were, however, two Aggies excluding sprinters, which set PRs on the day. Sophomore Imani Coleman saw a PR in the 800 as she beat her 2:16.22 record with a 2:15.26 for 10th place. Freshman Anisa Toppin completed a triple jump of 38-feet, 1 ½- inches to set her PR while taking 10th as well.
“Of course we need to keep improving in the hurdles and sprints, but we need some good improvements in the throws, distance, and jumps,” said Ross. “We’ve had some good individual performances in those areas but they need improving overall.”
The Aggies will take the week off from competition before they host the 2016 Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 5-7.
“We’re going to be getting ready for conference,” Ross said. “This week will be rest, but we’re also keeping the bigger picture in mind of regionals.” |
