Track & Field | 4/2/2022 11:14:00 PM
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – North Carolina A&T's relay teams continued to look stellar on Saturday as the men's and women's outdoor track and field teams completed the 2022 Florida Relays hosted by the University of Florida at Percy Beard Track.
Last week at the Raleigh Relays hosted by N.C. State, the women secured victories in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400. The women's 4x400 also won at High Point University earlier this season.
Once again on Saturday, the women claimed first-place finishes in the 4x100 and 4x400. Graduate Symone Darius, freshman Grace Nwokocha, senior Kamaya Debose-Epps and sophomore Jonah Ross finished the 4x100 in 42.91.
It is almost two seconds faster than the 44.61 they ran last week at NCSU. It places the foursome second in the nation behind the University of Texas (42.42).
Later in the day, Darius, Nwokocha, graduate Delecia McDuffie and Ross completed their 4x400 race in 3:31.64. Their third victory this season moved them into the No. 7 ranking nationally.
The men were not too shabby either. For the first time this season, Olympic gold medalist Randolph Ross Jr. ran on the 4x400 after helping the team secure the outdoor national title in the event in 2021. Senior Daniel Strokes, graduate Elijah Young and senior Akeem Lindo joined him as the team finished second behind Kentucky with a time of 3:03.11. A&T is ranked 10th in the nation.
A&T also had a B team of senior Cory Poole, sophomores Brandon Nya and Javonte Harding and junior Aveon Reid competing. They finished seventh in 3:15.04.
Nwokocha complemented her two wins in the relays by running a personal-best 11.27 in the women's 100 meters to finish second. She is ranked ninth in the nation after the performance. Debose-Epps placed third in 11.36. She is ranked 18th in the country. Nwokocha and Debose-Epps are ranked 1,2 in the Big South Conference in the 100 after Saturday's showing.
Senior Ayoola Gbolade, freshman Fajr Kelly and sophomore Carolyn Brown eased their way into the Big South top-5 rankings in the women's 800M after the Florida Relays.
Gbolade placed eighth on Saturday, finishing in 2:05.88 to move into the No. 1 spot in the conference. Kelly is third after running a 2:10.08 and Brown is fourth with the 2:11.33 she clocked.
On the men's side, Young and Stokes competed in 400M. Young placed fourth in 46.67. He remains No. 1 in the Big South after his 46.49 at the Raleigh Relays. Stokes placed seventh in 46.95 and moved into the No. 3 ranking in the conference. Young is ranked 22nd nationally in the 400M.
Senior Rasheem Brown had a third-place finish in the 110H as he crossed in 13.81. He is ranked 19th nationally and No. 1 in the Big South. Meanwhile, sophomore Jalen Chin moved into the No. 3 ranking in the conference after completing the 800 in 1:52.33.
The Aggies will host their first meet of 2022 next week as the annual Aggie Invitational returns to Marcus T. Johnson Track. It will be a one-day event on Saturday, April 9.
