Track & Field | 5/15/2025 7:45:00 PM
GREENSBORO – Remember when worry persisted on Wednesday because the North Carolina A&T men's outdoor track and field team was not going to garner any points at the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)Track and Field Outdoor Championships from an event they have dominated over the past two seasons – the 110-meter hurdles?
Never mind.
On the second day of the CAA outdoor championships hosted by A&T at Marcus T. Johnson Track, the Aggies more than made up for those missing points by excelling in other events on Thursday to win the conference title with 177 points. Monmouth placed second with 141 points, and William & Mary placed third with 115 points.
It marks the A&T men's first outdoor conference championship since winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 2021, also hosted by A&T. Thursday gave the Aggies a claim to the CAA indoor and outdoor titles in 2025.
The Aggie men won six events on Thursday to boost the program to its seventh outdoor conference championship in program history. The Aggies won men's titles in the shot put, triple jump, 800 meters, 400-meter hurdles, 400m, and the 4x400-meter relay.
In addition to winning the six events, the Aggie men captured the top four spots in the 400m. They had the top three finishers in the shot put. They also finished first and second in the 400H and the 800m. Also, the Aggies finished second, third, and fourth in the discus.
"It is gratifying how we responded because yesterday when we didn't get anything from the 110-hurdles, it was a huge hole," said A&T director of track and field Allen Johnson. "That's one of the things we are known for, but the guys rallied around each other and stepped up, and we still won big. It is a testament to their fortitude. The expectation is that when you win indoors and it is not super close, you go outdoors and handle business."
A&T came into Wednesday's competition with two points. But seniors Brayden Hodgest, Carlos Alexander, and freshman Alex Henry set the tone. Hodgest won the men's shot put by having his best throw land at 57 feet, 9 ½ inches, ahead of Alexander's second-place throw of 57 feet, 7 ½ inches. Henry's third-place throw traveled 56 feet, 4 ¾ inches.
Hodgest won his first CAA outdoor title in the shot put. He won the Big South Conference outdoor shot put title in 2022 and the CAA outdoor discus title last season. Hodgest placed third in the discus on Thursday (161 feet, 6 inches), finishing behind Alexander, who placed second with a throw of 162 feet. Henry kept compiling points for the Aggies by placing fourth (159 feet, 9 inches).
Attention then turned to the track for A&T, where they accumulated considerable momentum by first dominating the 400m and then witnessing juniors Dyimond Walker and Dawson Grogan put on a spectacular performance in the 800m. A&T came away with 29 points from the 400m after sophomore Xzaviah Taylor (46.01), freshman Elijah Thomas (46.19), sophomore Caleb Gurnell (46.25), and freshman Jailen Hicks (46.86) all ran personal records.
Xzaviah Taylor's 400m run could earn him a spot in the NCAA Division I East Regional as he enters the weekend ranked 23rd in the NCAA East. But Xzaviah Taylor was not finished there. He also captured the 400H outdoor title by running a 51.07. He finished ahead of his twin brother Isaiah Taylor, who finished second at 51.43. Meanwhile, in the men's 800m, Walker outlasted Grogan in an exciting finish where Walker ran a personal-record 1:48.29 and Grogan finished not far behind in 1:48.38.
"They're always having friendly competitions. They're always pushing each other," said Johnson. "It is a cliché, but iron sharpens iron."
The Aggie men topped things off with a win in the 4x400. It was not unexpected considering the relay team came into the meet ranked eighth in the nation. The team looked slightly different than the one that ran 3:03.10 on April 4, but Thomas, Gurnell, Hicks, and Isaiah Taylor won with a time of 3:07.49.
"We are here and we are here to stay," said Johnson. "We are just going to keep going and going and continue to do what we have been doing. We expect to keep winning the events we are good at – the throws, the sprint events and the throws. That's where we attract the talent, and that's where we keep working."
