EUGENE BOUND:
Former walk-on Olivia Dowd of North Carolina A&T finished eighth in the triple jump at the East Regional to earn a spot in the NCAA Div. I Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon (June 10-13). She jumped a program-best 43 feet, 5 inches to earn her spot. NC A&T Head Track & Field Coach Allen Johnson had four men’s competitors, two men’s relay teams and two women’s competitors advance to Eugene. Howard head coach David Oliver had three women’s competitors and one women’s relay team advance.
HBCU athletes punch their ticket to NCAA Div. I Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Thirteen black college track and field competitors and three relay teams advanced out of NCAA Outdoor Div. I Track & Field East and West Regional championships Saturday.
They will advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday, June 10 thru Saturday, June 13.
The top 12 finishers in each individual event and the top 12 relay teams from the regionals advanced to Eugene.
Twin juniors Isaiah and Xzavier Taylor of North Carolina A&T posted the best and third-best times in the 400 meter hurdles at the East Regional in Lexington, Kentucky Saturday.
Isaiah ran a personal best of 48.71 seconds to finish first in the third and final 400 hurdles heat Saturday. Xzavier also clocked a personal best of 48.82 for to finish first in Heat 1. Florida sophomore Vance Nilsson won Heat 2 in 48.77 to clock the second-best time.
Xzavier and Isiah had both clocked 49.76 in the preliminary rounds to both go under 50 seconds for the first time this season.
The Taylors were also part of A&T’s 4×400 relay team that included Elijah Thomas and Dymond Walker that advanced after posting the seventh-best time of 3:01.22.
A&T sophomore Jason Holmes also is headed to Eugene with the eighth-best time (13.40 seconds) in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Florida A&M senior Leonard Mustari, who began his career at A&T, also advanced in the event with the 12th-best time, 13.53 seconds.
A&T’s 4×100 meter relay quartet of Lessale Hewitt, Holmes, Jalen Booth-Mitchell and Nakhi Benjamin posted the sixth-best time of 38.84 to advance.
Also advancing for the Aggies was junior Xavier Partee who had a jump of 16.26 meters to finish second in the triple jump. Alabama State senior Anthony Woods fell just short of advancing with a 13th-place finish (15.80m) in the event.
Alabama A&M junior Justin Walker advanced with a 12th-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 7.67 meters.
Booth-Mitchell, an Aggie senior, fell just short of advancing in the 200 meters as he finished with the 13th best time in 20.50.
Southern high jumpers, Roman Smith (2.11m) and Keith Fowler (2.11m), also just missed out on advancing, finishing 13th and 14th in their semifinals.
In the women’s East Regional, Howard sophomore Yahnari Lyons clocked a 22.72 seconds time in the 200 meters to finish fifth and punch her ticket to Eugene. Florida A&M’s Diandrenique Gaines finished 15th with a time of 23.00.
Lyons later teamed with Nilajah Darden, Marcia Sey and Mackenzie Robinson in Howard’s 4×100 relay team who posted a time of 43.23 seconds, good for seventh place. Florida A&M (Janaree Kinchen, Gaines, Kiersten Clark and Arayana Ladson) also advanced with a 10th-place finish in 43.31 seconds.
Southern junior Tashina Alase posted the second-best time in the 100 hurdles at 12.74 seconds to advance. Alabama State’s Rasunek Tyler-Thompson finished 15th in 13.11.
A&T senior Spirit Morgan advanced with a leap of 1.82 meters to finish tied for second in the high jump. Aggie junior Olivia Dowd also advanced in the triple jump with an eighth-place finish in 13.23m as did Alabama State freshman Daedrian Beville who finished 12th at 13.21m.
Howard’s Cenaya Billups and Aniya Woodruff had a 2-3 finish in the 400 hurdles with times of 55.09 and 55.43 respectively to advance.
There were only three black college athletes competing in the West Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas. None of the three advanced.
Alabama State bows out of NCAA Baseball Regional
TUSCALOOSA, AL – After taking a 21-3 shellacking from top-seed and No. 7 host Alabama in a first round game Friday, SWAC champion Alabama State went down swinging in an NCAA Div. I Tuscaloosa Region elimination game falling to Oklahoma State 8-7 in 11 innings Saturday.
Alabama State (34-23) erased a six-run deficit and forced extra innings on Cale Clark’s two-run home run in the eighth inning, but No. 2 seed Oklahoma State plated a run in the top of the 11th to claim the victory Saturday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Alabama State outhit the Cowboys 11-5. Niguel Jenkins led the offensive attack by going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Clark finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk. Jackson Williams added two hits and an RBI, while Trey Callaway collected two hits.
In Friday’s opener, the SWAC champs finished with six hits, including home runs from Miguel Oropeza and Callaway, but the Crimson Tide used a 15-hit attack and multiple big innings to secure the victory.
Oropeza paced ASU offensively, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Callaway went 2-for-4 with a homer and one RBI, while Breydon Divine added a hit and scored a run.
