Track & Field | 2/27/2025 9:59:00 PM
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The North Carolina A&T men's indoor track and field team can again call themselves indoor track and field conference champions!
After scoring a whopping 185 points, the Aggie men won the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) indoor track and field championship on Thursday at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
The first-place finish marked their first conference indoor title since winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) indoor championship in 2020.
The men's indoor program is also the first varsity program at A&T to win a CAA conference championship. The institution has been a part of the CAA since 2022.
The men ended the meet with a score of 185 — ahead of Monmouth (146), Northeastern (140.5), William & Mary (81), and Hampton (69). The women came in fourth with 88 points, behind fellow HBCU and women's CAA indoor champion Hampton (110), Elon (107.5), and Northeastern (94.5).
"Bringing a CAA championship to A&T for the first time feels awesome," said Director of Track and Field Programs Allen Johnson. "It's something that this team has talked about since our first day of practice in September. So, it was just a lot of hard work and this team coming together."
Fourteen men finished first-team all-conference on Thursday as the team championed every sprint competition, both relays and two field events.
In the midst of winning, senior Brayden Hodgest upped the school record again in the shot put as he set his new personal best to 59 feet, 10 ¼ inches. It marks the third straight indoor shot put title for Hodgest, who continues to hold all top five spots in program history for the shot put event.
While taking their gold honors, freshman Elijah Thomas, sophomore Dyimond Walker, sophomore Kaleb Conway, and junior Dawson Grogan set a new facility record and a new meet record in the 4x800-meter relay, posting an impressive 7:35.10.
Sophomores Jordan Ware and Xavier Partee were also out to set meet records, as Ware ran a 20.80 in the 200 meters for his first-team nod, toppling the meet record of 20.90. Partee added 9 ½ inches to the triple jump record after his winning leap of 50 feet, 10 inches.
In true Sprint U fashion, the Aggie men also dominated the 60-meter hurdles, 60m, 400m, and 4x400.
Junior Jason Holmes, currently ranked No. 7 in the nation, claimed his second straight title in the 60H with a 7.78 run. Sophomore Xzaviah Taylor (47.52) brought it home in the 400m, and senior Caleb Jackson (6.71) won gold in the 60m.
The 4x400 relay team — sophomore Caleb Gurnell, senior Michael Brittingham, graduate student Brandon Nya, and sophomore Isaiah Taylor — closed the day with another first-place award. The group ran a 3:11.41 in the final event.
On the women's side, senior Lucheyona Weaver defended her winning streak in the 60H, collecting her third CAA indoor championship title with an 8.26 run.
Being honored with their first CAA Championship titles, senior Spirit Morgan set the high jump meet record to 5 feet,10 inches, and graduate student Julieth Nwosu broke the shot put meet record with a throw of 53 feet.
Junior Aaliyah Harris won her event by setting a personal record of 7.43 in the 60m.
Holmes is in excellent shape to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, March 13-15, in the 60H. It is a wait-and-see for Weaver in the 60H. The Aggie men and women begin the outdoor season on March 21 at High Point University's Bob Davidson Team Challenge.
