Track & Field | 2/26/2025 11:30:00 PM
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Day One of the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Virginia Beach Sports Center was mainly about the preliminary rounds for the North Carolina A&T men's and women's athletes.
Both teams sit in fifth place with a total of 14 points. Monmouth (53) leads the men and Elon (48.5) heads the women.
Graduate student Jade King and junior Olivia Dowd picked up 12 points for the women in the long jump competition. King finished second-team all-conference with an indoor best of 19 feet, 2 ¾ inches, and Dowd finished the event in fifth at 18 feet, 6 ½ inches.
The women's team secured their last two points by placing seventh in the distance medley relay.
On the men's side, freshman Alex Henry earned an all-conference nod and upped the score by six by placing third in the weight throw (51 feet, 1 ¼ inches). The team secured another seven points in the long jump as senior Aeneas Reed, sophomore Kaleb Lucas, and sophomore Xavier Partee finished fifth, seventh, and eighth.
But the big points are coming on Thursday during Day 2 of the championships for the Aggie men after a strong showing in the preliminaries on Wednesday, including a magnificent showing from junior Jason Holmes.
Holmes qualified first in three events: the 60-meter hurdles, where he ran 7.77; the 60m, where he posted a personal best of 6.68; and the 200m, where he clocked 20.97.
The men also took spots two, three, and five in the 60H prelims, running junior Thomas Smith IV (7.83), sophomore Isaiah Taylor (8.01), and sophomore Xzaviah Taylor (8:08). They claimed two more spots in the 60m as senior Caleb Jackson qualified second in 6.81. Senior Jaeden Gumbs qualified fifth in 6.83.
The men should also get a plethora of points in the 400m. Xaviah Taylor finished first in 47.99, sophomore Caleb Gurnell placed second in 48.01, and senior Michael Brittingham qualified fifth in 48.42. In the men's 800m, junior Dawson Grogan (1:53.60) and sophomore Dyimond Walker (1:52.87) will represent the men after qualifying third and eighth.
On the women's side, senior Lucheyona Weaver set the pace for the women's sprinters on Wednesday, taking the first top-qualifying spot for the team with an 8.41 in the 60H. She also qualified for the 60m after posting a new personal best of 7.50, but junior Aaliyah Harris championed that race with her personal record of 7.45.
Senior Fajr Kelly (2:10.91) and sophomore Serenity Brazell (2:15.02) will represent the women in the 800m after finishing second and eighth in the preliminary round.
The CAA Championships will continue through Thursday. The Aggies will take to the field at 10:30 a.m.; running events will begin with the women's 60H at 12:25 p.m. The men are after their first indoor title since winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship in 2020.
