AUSTIN, Texas – Fresh off her first-team All-American performance at the NCAA indoor championships, junior North Carolina A&T women's outdoor track and fielder Delecia McDuffie recorded the fastest women's 200-meter qualifying time at the 93rd annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at the University of Texas's Mike A. Myers Stadium.
The men's and women's outdoor teams are in Texas. They totaled a combined 12 qualifying times going into Saturday's finals.
In her first outdoor event as an Aggie, McDuffie ran 23.09 to qualify for Saturday's final. McDuffie's 23.09 is a personal-best dating back to her time at Johnson C. Smith University.
Sophomore Cambrea Sturgis had the second-fastest women's 200m qualifying time at 23.25. Freshman Jonah Ross qualified as well with a time of 23.48. It was her collegiate 200m debut.
Sturgis also qualified for the women's 100m final as she posted an 11.21 for the second-fastest time. Ross was also a qualifier in the women's 100 at 11.35. Sophomore Kamaya Debose-Epps also qualified with a time of 11.31, but she had a wind of 2.7.
Junior Tavarius Wright will be in the men's 100m final after running 10.06 to qualify with the third-fastest time. Wright's 10.06 is a personal-best dating back to his time at Butler Community College.
A&T had two qualifiers in the men's 100-meter hurdles as junior Rasheem Brown had the fourth-fastest qualifying time at 13.88. Junior teammate Cory Poole closed out his race in 13.99 for the sixth-fastest qualifying time. Brown's 13.88 is a personal-best dating back to his time as an NAIA runner at Milligan.
In the women's 100mh, senior Madeleine Akobundu was the Aggies lone qualifier finishing in 13.15 for the fourth-fastest time. Sydni Townsend qualified in the women's 400mh at 59.66.
Senior Akeem Sirleaf was the other qualifier as he finished the men's 200m in 21.00.
Things get underway for the Aggies at 3 p.m. on Saturday as the 4x100-meter relay team featuring Wright, freshmen Randolph Ross Jr. and Javonte Harding and junior Daniel Stokes compete. The women's 4x100 follows at 3:03 p.m. with Sturgis, Debose-Epps, Symone Darius and Ross.
Akobundu will compete for the women's 100mh title at 3:20 p.m., followed by Brown and Poole in the men's 110mh at 3:25 p.m.
The trio of Debose-Epps, Sturgis and Ross will compete in the women's 100m final at 3:35 p.m. before Wright goes out in the men's 100m final at 3:41 p.m. The men's 800m will feature fifth-year senior Abbas Abbkar at 3:55 p.m., and Townsend will run in the women's 400mh at 4:35 p.m.
Senior Akeem Lindo will compete in the men's 400m hurdles invitational at 4:48 p.m., before the women's 200m trio of McDuffie, Ross and Sturgis hit the track at 4:55 p.m. Sirleaf will run the men's 200m at 5:05 p.m.
