The Falcons are gunning for their 17th straight league crown and 29th overall. The Lady Falcons will attempt to capture their second crown in a row and 17th in 18 seasons. Overall, the Falcons and Lady Falcons have amassed over 150 CIAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and 33 NCAA Division II Titles under legendary Head Coach George Williams. Last season, the Falcons breezed past the competition by a 122-point margin.
The Falcons’ men, the defending Division II national champions, are led by a host of sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers including Moussa Dembele (Sr./Dakar, Senegal), Jermaine Jones (Jr./Wilmington, NC), Joshua Edmonds (Sr./Jacksonville, FL), Ty’reak Murray (Sr./Portsmouth, VA) and DeJon Wilkinson (Sr./Summerville, SC). Jones and Dembele are defending NCAA Division II individual champions in the 200 meter dash and 60 meter hurdles, respectively. Dembele is currently ranked second in the 60 hurdles and Jones is ranked sixth in the 200 dash in Division II.
Wilkinson is the top-ranked triple jumper in the nation. Edmonds is ranked second in the 400 meter dash and Murray ranks third in the 60 hurdles. The 4x400 relay team of Edmonds, James Quarles (Sr./Washington, DC), Burkheart Ellis Jr. (Soph./Raleigh, NC) and Roxroy Cato (Sr./Jamaica) are No. 1 in the nation. Cato is also ranked fourth in the 400 dash.
The men’s teams expected to challenge the Falcons are Virginia State University, Johnson C. Smith University and Virginia Union University. Virginia State is ranked 31st in Division II while Johnson C. Smith is 40th and Virginia Union 47th, respectively.
Virginia State is led by sophomore Charles Robinson, who is the seventh-ranked 400 dash sprinter in the nation. He also is part of the seventh-ranked 4x400 relay team which includes junior Clive Cameron, freshman Justin Williams and junior Te’Shad Chambers. Johnson C. Smith is sparked by senior Rolando Berch, who ranks fifth nationally in the 400 dash. He is also a member of the ninth-ranked 4x400 relay team which includes freshman Joshua Cunningham and sophomores Patrick Campbell and Waynee Hyman. Junior Berfrantz Charles heads the Virginia Union men. Last season, he was named CIAA Field MVP after scoring 14 points for the Panthers. He is currently ranked seventh in Division II in the 60 dash.
Among the women, the contenders are expected to be Johnson C. Smith and Winston-Salem State in addition to defending champion St. Aug. Johnson C. Smith is ranked fifth nationally and St. Aug is ranked 17th. Winston-Salem State is ranked 28th.
The Lady Golden Bulls are led by the speedy duo of senior Danielle Williams and junior Samantha Elliott. Williams, last season’s CIAA Track MVP, currently ranks first in the nation in the 60 hurdles and 200 dash. She is also sixth in the nation in the 60 dash. Elliott ranks second in Division II in the 60 hurdles, seventh in the 200, and eighth in the 60 and 400. They both are members of the fourth-ranked 4x400 squad which includes freshman Domenique Julius-Williams and freshman Crystal Campbell.
The Lady Falcons are led by the third-ranked 4x400 team of Akeisha Dumont (Jr./Brooklyn, NY), Fanta Fofana (Soph./Amiens, France), Tia-Adana Belle (Fr./St. George, Barbados) and Cherrisse Lynch (Jr./St. Lawrence, Barbados). Shakinah Brooks (Fr./Raleigh, NC) ranks fifth nationally in the long jump and Brittni Finch (Jr./Centreville, VA) ranks sixth in the triple jump.
Tajanel McNeil and Raven Covington are the top stars for the Lady Rams. McNeil, the co-CIAA Field MVP last season, ranks third in Division II in the triple jump. Covington ranks seventh in the 60 dash.
Kendall Reynolds, who shared the CIAA Field MVP with McNeil last season, ranks fifth in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump for Bowie State University, which ranks 31st in the nation. C’evon Jones ranks fifth in the 60 dash for 50th-ranked Virginia Union and Alicia Terry is the nation’s eighth-ranked triple jumper for 59th-ranked Virginia State. Six CIAA schools are ranked among the top 60 Division II women’s teams in the nation. Another name to watch is junior Quanera Hayes of Livingstone College, who ranks first in the 400 and third in the 200 in Division II.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and military personnel with valid ID . Children ages 12 and under are admitted free.
Need Directions?
From Interstate 40 (East or West), take exit 189 for US-158/Stratford Road. At the top of the ramp, turn right onto US-158/Stratford Road. Proceed approximately 2 miles and turn left on Kimwell Drive. JDL Fast Track will be approximately 1/2 mile down on the corner of Kimwell and Empire. Spectator parking is in the front.
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