Track & Field | 4/26/2025 11:26:00 PM
DES MOINES, IOWA – North Carolina A&T's two top-15 nationally ranked men's outdoor track and field relay teams were invited to Drave University for the prestigious Drake Relays at Drake Stadium.
It turned out really well for one and not so well for the other. On Saturday, the Aggies 4x400-meter relay team of freshman Elijah Thomas, sophomores Xzaviah and Isaiah Taylor, and Dyimond Walker entered Drake Stadium ranked 10th in the nation in the 4x400 after running a 3:03.10 at the University of Florida's Florida Relays on April 4.
The same foursome, running in the order of Thomas, Xzaviah Taylor, Walker, and Isaiah Taylor, ran a 3:05.36 on Saturday to win the Drake Relay title over Iowa, who ran a 3:05.78. Ohio State finished third in 3:05.82.
Thomas got the Aggies off to a great start, running a 44.12 split during the first leg. Isaiah Taylor finished off the competition, running a 45.87 anchor leg. The A&T 4x400 team is ranked fifth in the NCAA East Region and first in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
A&T's 4x100-meter relay team of junior Jason Holmes, sophomore Jordan Ware, and the Taylor twins, Xzaviah and Isaiah, came into the weekend ranked 11th nationally with a 38.96 recorded at Florida Relays on April 4.
On Friday, junior Jalen Booth-Mitchell replaced Ware, and the 4x100 team ran a 40.29 in the qualifying round. Unfortunately, the Aggies, along with Drake, Ohio State, and Iowa, were disqualified for an unknown reason. The disqualification took away from a 9.85-second leg split from Xzaviah Taylor and a 9.45 anchor-leg split from Isaiah Taylor.
The Aggies are scheduled to compete at the University of Virginia's UVa High Performance meet on Sunday before hosting the Aggie Classic, May 2-3, at Marcus T. Johnson Track.
