GREENSBORO – A combined 10 North Carolina A&T outdoor men's and women's track and field athletes are headed to the 2024 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round, colloquially known as the NCAA East Regionals.
Senior Aveon Reid leads the way for the Aggies, qualifying for regionals in three different events, including the men's 110-meter hurdles, the men's 400mh and the men's 4x100-meter relays. Four other Aggies qualified for two events, including Pebbles Scott, qualifying for the women's 100 and 200 meters.
Redshirt freshman Jason Holmes could also appear in two events, including his main event, the 110H. He is also on the list to compete in the 4x100. Also on the list for the 4x100 are freshmen twins Isaiah Taylor and Xzaviah Talyor, junior Jaeden Gumbs, and senior Caleb Jackson. Both Taylor twins also qualified for the 400H.
The Aggies look strongest in the 110H, where Holmes leads the way with his 13.43 recorded at the 2024 Penn Relays on April 25. Holmes's 13.43 is a program record, and he will go in as the No. 6 seed. Holmes won the CAA outdoor championships in the 110H at 13.48, the second-fastest time in program history.
Reid ran 13.69 at the Aggie Classic on April 19 at A&T's Marcus T. Johnson Track. He will enter as the 21st seed, while sophomore Thomas Smith IV enters at 13.71, thanks to his time at the Aggie Classic to qualify as the 23rd seed. Reid has the next highest seed from A&T, qualifying at No. 12 in the 400H with a time of 50.27.
Reid clocked a 50.27, a personal record, to win the CAA outdoor title in the event on May 11 at Elon University. Isaiah Taylor is ranked 32nd in the 400H after running a 51.30 at the CAA outdoor champions. Xzaviah Taylor ran 51.49 at CAAs to rank 40th in the East Region.
For the fourth time in five NCAA regionals, A&T's outdoor women's team qualified an athlete in the 100 and 200m. Scott's qualifying time for the 100 is a wind-aided 11.40, recorded at the Aggie Classic. In the 200, Scott ran a wind-aided 23.46 in the CAA outdoor championship prelims to qualify with the 44th seed. Junior Lucheyona Weaver was the only other women's outdoor athlete to qualify for A&T, as she will compete in the 100H.
Weaver is the 16th seed in the 100H. Weaver ran a personal-record 13.11 at High Point University's VertKlasse Meeting on April 6. Weaver is the 2024 CAA outdoor champion in the 100H.
The NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round starts Wednesday, May 22, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. The Prelims will conclude on Saturday, May 25. The top 12 regional performers advance to the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships from June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore., at Historic Hayward Field.
