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| COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS |
The event honored legendary coach Bobby Lang and Charlotte Griffin, the widow of the complex’s namesake.
FAMU interim Director of Athletics, Michael Smith, was beaming with pride at the restart of the Spring classic.
"From the time I came to school here, the FAMU Relays has been a stable in the southeast region of the nation. Schools from all across the U.S. would come and participate in the FAMU Relays. To see it return to it’s rightful perch among the best track meets in the country took a lot of collaboration. We are pleased that coordination between the university leadership, university plant operations and facilities came together to refurbish and improve this great track complex."
FAMU coaches Darlene Moore and Wayne Angel showcased their striders against 12 opposing teams.
Opening the relays, Chandelic Jackson began the winning with a 2:15.12 time in the 800m dash. The Lady Rattlers dominated the field in the event much as they did most of the day. Ariel Allen took second place (2:18.35) and QuanDra Shanks took third (2:19.22), as the ladies set the tone for what was to come the rest of the day.
On the men’s side, McDaniel Olivier won the 800m dash in 1:54.86.
Raven Diggs took second place in the 400m dash with a sprint of 58.36.
Shawanna Steplight raced across the hurdles in 14.56 to take top honors, followed by Kenya Collins, who turned in 14.68 to take second place in the 100m hurdles. Dennis Pugh glided down the track in 14.41 seconds on the men’s side to take first place for the Rattlers.
The men’s distance medley team, powered by a blazing first two legs by Elias Chesire and Isiah Smith, experienced a missed handoff, which crippled McDaniel Olivier and Robyel Kidane’s opportunity to bring home the title. Grambling State took the title in 10:32.25, while the Rattlers finished second in 10:55.30.
The Rattlers took the women’s 4x100m relay in 45.61. FAMU had two teams in the race, which was competitive until FAMU All-American, Nakia Linson, took the baton and ran a blazing leg to hand the title to the Lady Rattler “A” team. The men’s team finished fifth in the relay in 41.82. The team of Corey Jones, Karus Hunter, Shayne Rodney and Dennis Pugh were working as a new tandem, while Angel feels they will excel by the time the MEAC Outdoor championship arrives.
Linson and Smith took first and second place respectively in the 100m dash. Linson, the defending MEAC outdoor 100m champion ran 11.71, while Smith clocked in at 11.96. Diggs finished in 12.54 to take fifth place for the Lady Rattlers, while Kenya Collins rounded out the trio of Lady Rattlers in the top 10, placing seventh in 12.72.
Rodney ran second in the 100m dash in 10.71, just a step behind Grambling’s Kameron Cowan, who won in 10.47. Jones took ninth place with an 11.06 time.
The 1500m run saw the Lady Rattlers take the first five spots, showing why they reign as cross country champions in the MEAC. Senior Chandelic Jckson made her final appearance at home a memorable one, finishing in 4:50.66 to take first place. QuanDra Shanks (4:52.39), Cynthia Chelelgo (5:01.21), Effiey Kosgei (5:05.57) and Ariel Allen (5:10.12) finished consecutively in the next four places.
Dieumy Duclos took fourth place in the 1500m run in 4:20.38 on the men’s side.
The Rattlers took the top two spots in the 400m hurdles. Dennis Pugh went 53.55 in winning the event, while Anthony Cross took second in 54.98.
In the 3000m run, the Lady Rattlers took the top four spots, while Elias Chesire took top honors for the Rattlers. Cynthia Chelelgo finished in the top spot 9:21.79, followed by Effiey Kosgei (9:22.98), Zenia George (9:33.91) and Phyllis Cheryiout in 9:38.15.
On the men’s side, one of FAMU’s most decorated track athletes, Elias Chesire, took the top spot in 8:55.49.
Capping the Relays were two exciting 4x400m relays races. Both the Rattlers and Lady Rattlers took top honors, bringing the running events to a close and the fans to their feet.
The Lady Rattlers took the 4x400m relays from a resurgent Grambling Lady Tigers team, who were determined to spoil the crescent event from FAMU. Jasmine Smith, Chandelic Jackson and Nakia Linson all blazed to a lead in the race, and it was capped by a wonderful performance by another senior, Ariel Allen who ran a scorching split to help the Lady Rattlers to a 3:49.24, which Moore said was the fastest time she has had a team score at FAMU this early in the outdoor season.
The men’s race was just as exciting as it took a yeoman’s effort to fight off the Grambling Tigers is one of the most exciting races in recent FAMU Relays history. The team of Isaiah Smith, McDaniel Olivier and Dennis Pugh got a 15 meter lead for anchor leg Roman Skovronski, but Grambling closed that gap with a tear down the back straight to pull even with Skovronski. But, at the 150 meter mark, Skovronski brought the Robert “Pete” Griffin Complex to its feet as he pulled away from Grambling to take home the win for the Rattlers. It was a fitting cap to a wonderful day on the new track surface.
In the field events, Jaymee Smith, hobbled with a leg injury, managed to take first place with a toss of 39.31 meters. Andrea Aaron finished third in 35.48, while Zenia George took fifth place in 29.60 and Jasmine Smith took seventh with a toss of 28.47.
Xavier Mackey took eighth place in the men’s javelin throw with a toss of 32.41.
Versatile athlete, Nakia Linson, took first place in the long jump with 5.89m effort. Kenya Collins took fourth (5.32m), Ashley Ivey took seventh place (4.97), Shawanna Steplight placed ninth (4.67) and Ashley Giacomucci finished 10th (4.46m).
Wells Jeudi placed ninth in a competitive men’s long jump, where he scored a leap of 5.96m. Sasha-Ann Lebert placed second in the discus throw with a toss of 40.27m. Andrea Aaron took fifth place with a 36.82m effort.
Xavier Mackey took second place in the discus throw on the men’s side, followed by Dennis McGee in third place. The Rattlers threw for distances of 43.53m and 41.17m respectively.
Lebert would win the shot put, as she did last season at the MEAC outdoor championships. She has been constantly improving and used the newly renovated shot put pit, which has a gravel landing area, as opposed to the previous clay landing area. Lebert’s toss of 13.94 meters was good for a top finish in the event. Brittany Dean took third place in 12.64m.
Dennis McGee’s throw of 14.93 was good enough for the top spot on the men’s side. The Rattlers also had a fourth place finish from Amon Carridine, who threw for 13.41m.
Newcomers Zana Lane and Veronica Bartley placed in the Top 10 for the Lady Rattlers. Bartley placed fifth in 1.57m with Bartley following at the same distance.
Ashley Giacomucci top first place in the women’s triple jump. She jumped 11.69m to win the event.
Jasmine Smith, showed her athleticism by placing third in the pole vault. She finished the event by clearing 2.74m, which was less than a minute before she had to run in the 4x400m relay. Zana Lane cleared 2.29m to finish sixth. Brittany brown, who normally excels at the event for the Lady Rattlers, was shaken after a pole snapped in a warm up run through.
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| The Robert "Pete" Griffin Track was unveiled to the public at the FAMU Relays. COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION |
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