BCSP.com
relay) and Elijah Thomas (4x400m relay). (STANDING l. to r.) Xzavier Taylor (400m Hurdles, 4x400m relay), Nakhi Benjamin (4x400m relay), Jalen Booth-Mitchell (4x100m relay), Isaiah Taylor (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Michael Brittingham (4x400m relay, alternate), and Jason Holmes(110m hurdles, 4x100m relay)
The North Carolina A&T track program, led by head coach Allen Johnson, once again proved that is the best in the black college ranks at the NCAA Div. I Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon last week.
The Aggie men scored points in four final events Friday to come away with a tie for 12th with Alabama with 21 points. Finishers in the top eight in each event earn points on a descending basis (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1) and get first team all-American status.
The highest scorer for the Aggies was junior Isaiah Taylor who earned six points for his third-place finish in 49.03 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles final. His twin brother, junior Xzavier Taylor finished seventh in the event in 49.98 to garner an additional two points. The Taylors, out of Decatur, Ga., are the sons of Angelo Taylor, the two-time former Olympic gold medalist in the 400 hurdles.
Aggies also finished fourth in two events garnering five points in each.
Senior hurdler Jason Holmes teamed with junior Lassale Hewlett, senior Jalen Booth-Mitchell, and junior Nakhi Benjamin to post a time of 38.67 seconds in the 4×100 meter relay, finishing behind Tennessee (37.98), LSU (38.06) and Ohio State (38.44).
In his individual event, the 110-meter high hurdles, Holmes clocked a time of 13.16 seconds to finish fourth in the field behind repeat champion Ja’Kobe Tharp (12.90) of Auburn who set a world record of 12.75 seconds in Wednesday’s semifinals, Kendrick Smallwood of Texas and Braxton Brann of Ohio State. Holmes broke his personal record for the second time in three days, and his school record for the second time in three days. Friday marked the fourth time in Holmes’ career he has broken A&T’s 110 record.
Holmes also broke the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record for the third time in his career. He will leave the university with six of
the seven best times in the 110 hurdles. His fourth-place finish is the highest finish nationally in the 110 hurdles in program history, exceeding Rasheem Brown’s eighth-place finish in 2023.
The Taylor twins capped the day by joining Elijah Thomas and Dyimond Walker on the 4×400 meter relay team as they timed 3:00.98
to finish sixth and garner three points. Georgia won the event in 2:57.93 followed by LSU (2:57.93) and Arkansas (2:58.87).
Arkansas won the men’s team title with 58 points with Georgia second with 49 points. Tennessee, led by former A&T head coach Duane Ross, was third with 46 points. No other black college program scored in the men’s competition.
In the women’s results, Howard sophomores Yahari Lyons and Cenaya Billups had the best finishes.
Lyons finished fifth in the 200 meters in 22.31 seconds to score four points for the Lady Bison. Billups finished sixth in the 400 meters in 55.42 to earn three points. The other women’s points were scored by Southern junior Tashina Alase who finished eighth in the 100 meter hurdles final in 13.18 seconds to score a single point for the Lady Jaguars.
NC A&T senior Spirit Morgan cleared 1.79 meters in the high jump but could not advance. Twelve others cleared higher heights. A&T senior Olivia Dowd finished 18th in the triple jump with a leap of 12.80 meters (42.0 feet).
The seven points for Howard, under head coach David Oliver, landed the Lady Bison in a tie for 32nd. Southern’s one point tied the Lady Jaguars for 64th.