EAST GREENSBORO (January 17, 2019) –The North Carolina A&T men's and women's indoor track and field teams had another productive week as evidenced by another collection of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) weekly honors after they competed at the Virginia Tech Invitational this past weekend.
The Aggies will return to Blacksburg, Va., this week to participate in the Hokie Invitational hosted by Virginia Tech, Jan. 18-19.
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Seniors Kayla White and Rodney Rowe along with junior Madeleine Akobundu each received a weekly honor from the MEAC this week following their success at Virginia Tech.
White was named women's track athlete of the week after recording the fastest time in the MEAC and third-fastest time in the nation by running a 7.25 at the Virginia Tech Invitational Friday. White also participated in the women's 4x4 where she and her teammates placed second on Saturday. White earned first-team indoor All-American honors last season in the 60-meter hurdles.
Rowe earned men's track athlete of the week. Rowe posted a 6.74 in his season debut in the 60 meters to win the event. It is the third-fastest time in the MEAC and it is tied for the 22nd-fastest time in the nation. He also was one-fourth of the 4x4 team that broke the school record with a time of 3:08.96. It is the fastest time in the MEAC and the fifth-fastest time in the country.
Akobundu may have had the most impressive weekend. She won women's field athlete of the week even though she was lethal in both running and field events in Blacksburg. Akobundu won the long jump at the Virginia Tech Invite by jumping 19-feet, 4 ¾-inches for the best leap in the conference thus far. On the track, she recorded the second-fastest time in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles by finishing first in 8.14.
“Those are three great, great talents,” said N.C. A&T director of track and field programs, Duane Ross. “I'm always excited whenever we win something from the conference, but we have to step it up and start winning some of these national honors. We are always looking to be the best nationally.”
Ross said all three athletes came into the season with a chip on their shoulder. They all want to capture national titles in indoor and outdoor. In an effort to help, the Aggies started competing later in January than they normally do to help with rest and training.
“We want to make sure they are training well, so we held them back so they would be ready to compete. The wait also makes them hungry to get out there and prove themselves. I saw it working this past weekend. They brought a lot of intensity.”
Ross will rest White this weekend at the Hokie Invitational. Ross also decided not to split up the teams and compete in the Gamecock Inaugural hosted by the University of South Carolina.
The first field event on Friday begins at 4 p.m., with the first event on the track starting at 5 p.m. The men's 60mh final is scheduled for 7:40 p.m., Friday followed by the women. In addition to Akobundu's top-5 national ranking, senior Michael Dickson is ranked fifth nationally in the men's 60mh.
The men's 60m final is 7:50 p.m., Friday. Freshman Akeem Sirleaf is tied with Rowe nationally at 22ndin the 60m. With White sitting out this weekend, freshman Cambrea Sturgis will be the Aggies top runner in the sprint. She ranks 14thnationally with a time of 7.38.
Saturday field events begin at 11 a.m., with the seeded women's pole vault. The first event on the track Saturday will be the women's 400m starting at 12:45 p.m.
