WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – When celebrating greatness, a perfectionist can often drift back to the moments when they did not meet the standard.

Before Duane Ross, North Carolina A&T's track and field programs director, could celebrate his women's indoor track and field team winning the 2022 Big South Conference championship on Friday at the JDL Fast Track, the year 2018 flashed in his mind. 

 The Aggie women lost the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference by a half-point. That means the Aggies are a measly half-point from going for five straight outdoor conference titles after they just completed winning their fifth straight indoor conference title on Friday. 

"I don't know why that popped in my head," said Ross. "It still feels like the one that got away. I'm proud of what our ladies did this week. They were feeling it. I know our men get a lot of national attention, but our women are strong. We are stronger outdoor than we are indoor. So, when we talk about winning national championships, we are not just talking about the men." 


What happened in 2022 at JDL on Friday was far different from what happened at A&T's outdoor facility in 2018. The Aggies by far established themselves as the class of the Big South in indoor track and field. 

A&T won with 207 points, followed by High Point University (159), Hampton (96), Campbell (49) and Charleston Southern (47) in the top-5. The Aggies had the top two finishers in the 60-hurdles, the top three finishers in the high jump, the top four finishers in the 60 meters and the top four finishers in the 200M. 

The Aggies also took gold in the weight throw, the 400M, the 800M and the 4x400-meter relay. The Aggies further illustrated their dominance by having 10 different gold medalists throughout the week, and they won those gold medals on and off the track. 

Three of the Aggies victories came in field events, including Friday's high jump and weight throw. 

"That's how you win championships. The balance that we had was excellent," said Ross. "I challenged my coaching staff to bring about that balance, and they did an excellent job of getting our athletes ready. We are looking for that same balance on the men's side."

Junior Kenady Wilson won the high jump with a leap of 5-feet, 9 ¾-inches. It was the best indoor jump of her career, and she broke the conference meet record. Graduate Nazah Reddick followed in second at 5-feet, 8 ½-inches, and graduate Paula Salmon came in third at 5-feet, 5-inches. 

Meanwhile, senior Jasmine Jenkins followed up her second-place finish in the shot put on Thursday with a first-place finish in the weight throw with a personal-record (PR) toss of 57-feet, 8 ½-inches. Graduate teammate Loren James, who won the shot put on Thursday, finished fifth at 53-feet, 7 ¾-inches. 

Sophomore Arrieya Harper's second-place finish in the triple jump (40-feet, 7 ½-inches) added to the Aggies solid showing in field events.

Of course, the Aggies had the sprints locked down. Graduate Symone Darius led the way in the 60M by breaking the conference indoor meet record with a time of 7.34. Senior Kamaya Debose-Epps (7.37), freshman Grace Nwokocha (7.42) and sophomore Jonah Ross (7.44 PR) took second, third and fourth, respectively. 

The foursome was the same in the 200M, but the order of finish was different. Jonah Ross took gold in the 200 with a PR time of 23.68, followed by Debose-Epps (23.71), Darius (23.90) and Nwokocha (24.20) in second, third and fourth. 

There was no surprise in the 60H as Salmon, the nation's second-ranked hurdler, won the conference title in 8-seconds flat. Freshman teammate Amanda Kinloch placed second with an 8.43 PR. 
 Senior Delecia McDuffie took first place in the 400M, finishing in 54.48. Freshman Pebbles Scott followed in third at 55.96. Sophomores Mykayla Perry (56.98) and Nia Frederick (57.04) also scored in the event by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. 

Senior Ayoola Gbolade won the 800 in 2:11.70. Freshman Fajr Kelly finished third in 2:13.88, and she was followed by sophomore Carolyn Brown (2:14.06) in fourth and sophomore Jayla Jones (2:16.94) in sixth. 

The Aggies still came away with the 4x400 title despite running their B team as Scott, Frederick, Kelly and Perry crossed the finish line in 3:45.86. 

 A&T will now go after its fourth outdoor conference title in five years, which still leaves Ross thinking about what could have been.