Track & Field | 2/6/2026 11:20:00 PM
COLUMBIA, SC – North Carolina A&T went south on Friday for the first day of the University of South Carolina's Carolina Challenge at the Carolina Indoor Track and Field Complex.
A&T had two first-place finishes and several impressive showings during the qualifying rounds of sprint and hurdle events. In addition, All-American
Jason Holmes appears to be returning to form as the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships approach later this month.
Holmes, a two-time second-team indoor All-American in the 60-meter hurdles, finished fractions of a second behind Baylor University's Demario Prince on Friday in the 60H. Prince won with a time of 7.621 while Holmes crossed in 7.625. Holmes's junior teammate,
Isaiah Taylor, finished third in the final with a time of 7.77. Holmes also had the third-fastest qualifying time in the first round of the 60-meter preliminaries at 6.75 before qualifying for the final in the 60m semifinals at 6.76.
He did not compete in the final. A&T junior
Jordan Ware had the second-fastest semifinal qualifying time in the 60 at 6.70 before finishing seventh in the final (6.80). Redshirt junior
Deavion Deleon got the Aggies a win on the track. Deleon won the women's 800m in 2:14.42 ahead of freshman teammate
Kimora McKay, who finished third in 2:18.27. A&T's other win came in the jumps.
Sophomore
Ty'Heak Buie jumped 50 feet, 2 ½ inches to win the men's triple jump. Buie came into the weekend ranked second in the CAA in the triple jump behind Hampton's Joseph Ernest. Buie's season-best jump on Friday will move him a little closer to Ernest, whose best jump is 50-feet 5 ½ inches.
The ladies had a second-place finish in the women's 400m as junior Serenity Brazzell crossed the finish line in 55.34 seconds behind Baylor's Serafima Lucero's time of 54 seconds flat. Brazzell's time could move her into the No. 2 spot in the CAA. Graduate
Zamia Stelly raced her way through two qualifying rounds to finish fourth in the women's 60H with a personal record time of 8.48. Stelly will likely have the fastest time in the CAA when the weekend ends. Junior
Olivia Dowd should also take over the top spot in her event within the conference. Dowd jumped 40 feet, 11 ¾ inches to finish third at the Carolina Challenge. She entered the weekend tied with Hampton's Danielle James for the conference lead at 39 feet, 7 ¼ inches.
A&T returns for the final day of the Carolina Challenge on Saturday with the first field event, the women's high jump, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. The first running event, the women's 300m, is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
