Track & Field | 4/19/2024 11:15:00 PM
GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T's outdoor track and field program came home on Friday to host the Aggie Classic at Marcus T. Johnson Track. The Aggies celebrated by earning three first-place finishes, all in field events. A&T will host Day 2 of the Aggie Classic on Saturday, with field events starting at 10 a.m. and track events beginning at noon.
On Friday, the Aggies dominated the men's long jump. Freshman Kaleb Lucas made his outdoor debut by posting a personal record in the long jump. He jumped 23 feet, 11 ¾ inches to win the event. Lucas has a chance to stand as the Coastal Athletic Association's (CAA) No. 1 long jumper at the end of the weekend. Friday's long jump is more than an inch better than UNC Wilmington's Bryson Robinson's 23-foot, 10-inch jump that was No. 1 coming into the weekend.
On Friday, A&T also took the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the men's long jump. Junior Aeneas Reed finished second with his best jump, landing him at 23 feet, 5 ¼ inches. Junior Joseph Palmer placed third with a leap of 23 feet, 4 ¾ inches. The Aggies could have the top three long jumpers in the conference by the beginning of the week.
Freshman and sophomore throwers dominated the women's discus for A&T on Friday. Freshman Sady Moody won the event with a 142-foot throw. Sophomore teammate Taylor Reagor placed second with a measurement of 139 feet, 11 inches. Senior Makayla Watkins also finished in the top 10 by placing sixth with her best throw, which landed at 129 feet, 7 inches.
The men's discus also went A&T's way, with junior Brayden Hodgest winning the event with a toss of 157 feet, 5 inches. It marked Hodgest's third career win in the discus. Junior teammate Carlos Alexander placed third with a throw of 144 feet, 9 inches.
There were a few more second-place finishes for the Aggies in field events. Senior Jade King placed second in the women's long jump by leaping 18 feet, 8 ½ inches. In the men's high jump, junior Kendrell Goodes placed second behind teammate Yule Pieters, who competed unattached. Pieters jumped 6 feet, 8 ¾ inches. It took him fewer times to reach that mark than it did for Goodes.
On the track, redshirt freshman Jason Holmes starred in the men's 200m. Holmes ran a personal-record 20.90 to finish second behind Olympian Guy Maganga Gorra, who ran a 20.60. Holmes could rank in the top 5 of the conference by the end of the weekend. Senior Caleb Jackson finished sixth behind Holmes at 21.19. Freshman Isaiah Taylor placed eighth in 21.28.
Junior Pebbles Scott ran another personal record on Friday. After running a personal record in the 100 meters last week at the University of Florida, Scott ran a 23.59 PR in the women's 200m at A&T on Friday to finish fourth. She was the second-fastest collegiate in the race after finishing behind two unattached sprinters. Scott could rank among the top 5 200m runners in the CAA by the end of the week.
Junior Kylan Willis also posted a personal record on Friday, finishing second in the men's 1500m in 3:55.59. Sophomore Dawson Grogan ran a 3:57.84 PR in the same event to finish third. Two other Aggies finished in the top 10, with Kaleb Conway running a 4:02.59 to finish sixth and senior Jalen Chin running a 4:03.68 to place eighth.
