Track & Field | 3/31/2023 9:30:00 PM
GAINSVILLE, Fla. – The North Carolina A&T men's and women's outdoor track and field teams are tackling one of the most competitive meets on their calendars at the 2023 Pepsi Florida Relays. On Friday, the teams eased into the competition with sprinters racing the 200-meter event, 400-meter hurdles, and 4x100 relays at James G. Pressly Stadium.
The men's 4x100 relay runners qualified with the sixth-fastest time in the preliminary round – just behind Rutgers University, ranked No. 6 in the East Region. Brandon Nya, Shemar Chambers, Caleb Jackson, and Reheem Hayles finished with a time of 40.21, their best 4x100 run this season. They will race in the finals on Saturday.
The Aggie men also debuted their 400-meter hurdlers, with Akeem Lindo (52.05) and Thomas Smith (53.55) taking the track. Lindo placed sixth among three of the top-5 runners listed in the nation's top-25. Lindo and Smith's marks will likely position the men at No. 2 and No. 3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rankings, and Lindo could enter the nation's top-25 himself.
On the women's side, Jada Griffin marked her first 200m run of the season with a time of 23.81, and she now leads the event for the Aggies. Pebbles Scott also competed in the women's 200m, lowering her season best to 24.25. After the weekend, Griffin will likely claim the CAA's No. 2 spot, and Pebbles could jump from No. 8 to No. 5.
The competition was fierce in the women's 4x100 preliminaries, as four of the eight qualifying teams were from universities ranked in the nation's top-11. While the Aggies did not take one of those eight spots, they did lower their season best to 45.28. Scott, Lucheyona Weaver, MyKayla Perry, and Paula Salmon will likely move the relay team from No. 3 in the conference to first.
On the second day of the Florida Relays, the college events are expected to kick off with the men's discus throw at 9 a.m. The first college running event will be the women's 4x200, scheduled for 11 a.m.
