Albany State Captures 2014 SIAC Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships

ROCK HILL, South Carolina  –  At the conclusion of the 2014 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Track and Field Championships, the Golden Rams from Albany State University earned their way to top team finishes in both the men's and women's competitions at Irwin Belk Track in Rock Hill, S.C.

The Lady Rams scored 229 points for a decisive win. Benedict's Lady Tigers finished second with 205 points and Stillman took third with 86 points. On the men's side, Albany State had 194 total points. Morehouse placed second with 159 points and Kentucky State earned 116 points.

Albany State's men's and women's teams capped off their overall victories with a first-place finish in both 4x400m relays. The men's team was comprised of Tabareyon Jones, Kyran Stewart, Sidney Buchannon and Jarrel Jackson. They finished in 3:13.88. Stillman came in second place after running a 3:17.85.

Benedict finished in 3:19.55 for third. Olivia Traylor, Mykeese Edwards, Irrion Conaler and Lanequa Borders ran a 3:52.14 for the Albany State's women's relay team. Benedict's Lady Tigers came in second in 3:53.21. Stillman's team finished in 3:55.64.

Final awards were given to the top performers of the meet, Jonnise Pierce (Benedict) won the Women's Track MVP Award. Krishanda Campbell-Brown (Benedict) won the Women's Field MVP Award. Jonnise Pierce also won the Cleve Abbott Award which is annually awarded to the male or female who scores the most points during the meet. Pierce scored 44 points. Albert Murrey from Albany State was named the Men's Track MVP. Javonte Brooks-Brown out of Kentucky State won the Men's Field MVP Award. Kenneth Taylor, Albany State's head track and field coach, was named the Most Outstanding Coach for the men and women.

In the 4x100m relay, Stillman College claimed gold in both the men's and women's race and Claflin finished with the silver medal in both races. Travis Thornhill, Jamal Rodman, James Bigham III and Josiah Nettles ran a 40.59 for first. Brittany Franklin, Euphemia Edem, Janae Jones and Alexandria Montgomery represented Stillman with a time of 46.57 for the win in their race. Claflin (40.74) and Benedict (41.46) finished in second and third, respectively in the men's relay. Claflin (47.96) and Fort Valley (48.07) went 2-3 in the women's relay.

The 400m dash was quick and close with Albany State's Tabareyon Jones (47.36) edging Benedict's Antonio Locklin, Jr. (47.43) for the win. Jarrel Jackson (48.23) took the bronze medal for the Golden Rams.

In the women's 400, Benedict took first with Stephanie Rhoden crossing the line with a time of 56.86. Clark Atlanta's Jerriyauna Jarboe finished second in 57.64 and Claflin's Carrie Byrd went third in 58.02.

Kyran Stewart (10.45) claimed the coveted men's 100m dash title adding 10 points to Albany State's point total. Teammate Untayous Benson (10.79) finished third. Claflin's Dennis Bain joined in the photo finish finishing in 10.62 for second.

Chamekea Davis won the 100m dash with a time of 11.57 for Benedict. Crossing the line in 11.93 was Albany State's Lanequa Borders. Third went to Portia Wilson of Fort Valley. Wilson ran a 12.03.

Claflin's Dennis Bain earned 10 points in the 110m hurdles crossing the line in 13.92. Benedict's Tre Adderely (14.94) and Morehouse's Jerraco Johnson (15:45) took bronze and silver.

Krishanda Campbell-Brown collected another medal after winning the 100m hurdles in 14.77. Makayla Jackson and Irrion Conaler battled for second. Jackson ran a 15.07 for second and eight points for Claflin. Albany State found their way to the podium again with a third-place finish by Conaler (15.08).

Darrell Jackson (53.70) from Stillman and Christopher Morris (55.89) from Morehouse ran just a tad slower in the 400m hurdles than they did in the prelims to earn the gold and silver medals, respectively. TreVonta McTyre (55.96) improved upon his prelim time and hurdled his way to a bronze medal.

Claflin's Makayla Jackson (1:01.72) and Eboni Smith (1:03.79) finished first and third in the 400m hurdles. Albany State's Irrion Conaler (1:03.61) picked up another medal with a second-place finish.

Albany State's Stewart earned another gold medal in the 200 and helped Albany State to sweep the men's 100m dash, 200m dash and 400m dash. In the 200, Stewart finished in 21.33. Claflin's Bain (21.33) picked up a silver medal and Benedict's Rodriques Flynn (21.88) won the bronze.

Chamekea Davis from Benedict took the top spot in the 100m dash and followed it up with gold in the 200m dash. Davis finished in 24.17 to lead a photo finish. Euphemia Edem earned eight points for Stillman running the identical time of 24.87 that she turned in during the prelims. Benedict's Stephanie Rhoden placed third in 24.97.

In the men's 800m run, Kieren Broussard picked up his second gold of the day for Kentucky State finishing in 1:52.52. Albany State's Albert Murrey (1:54.93) also returned to the podium to collect a second silver medal. Stillman's Chazz Mapp (1:55.74) took third.

Stillman College picked up 10 points in the women's 800m run thanks to a top finish by Sade Joseph in 2:20.22). The finish was tight and Jonnise Pierce from Benedict crossed in 2:20.31 for second. The bronze medal went to Albany State's Olivia Traylor (2:21.57).

Kieren Broussard took the top spot for Kentucky State in the men's 1500m run after running a time of 4:05.18 in the finals. Broussard was followed by Albany State's Albert Murrey (4:05.66) and Morehouse's Gerald Jones (4:06.25).

The Lady Tigers from Benedict continued to take gold in distance events. Jonniese Pierce finished first in the 1500m run with a time of 5:12.30. Albany State's Olivia Traylor (5:13.66) placed second and Denita Brown (5:18.96) from Kentucky State finished third.

Morehouse College went 1-2 in the 5000m run with Dahir Mohamed (16:20.02) and Shinaola Agbede (16:22.48) taking the top spots. Albert Murrey from Albany State placed third in 16:32.64.

In the women's 5000m run, Benedict College again swept the top three spots of a distance race. Astacia Watkins (22:47.74), Jonnise Pierce (22:50.57) and Mikarla Swann (22:51.97) went 1-2-3.

Tre Adderely was in a league of his own in the men's javelin. Adderely threw his best on the last throw of the finals. His mark of 56.33m earned 10 points for the Tigers. Paine's Adrian Caldwell placed second with a 49.32m throw. Ronald Williams (46.73m) finished third.

There were four competitors in the women's pole vault. Clark Atlanta's Ashley Ellis won with a cleared height of 3.05m. Raven Norwood from Albany State cleared 2.63m and Tuskegee's Quinetta Forby (2.53m) finished in third.

Andrea Fullmore threw the javelin 35.76m to secure the win and add 10 points to Albany State's score. Clark Atlanta's Tabia Wade (32.76m) and Benedict's Terae Sweeting (32.53) rounded out the top three in the javelin.

Babatunde Sanusi was the lone person to clear the men's high jump bar at 2.01m. He attempted 2.06m but did not clear it. Sanusi's win added 10 points to Claflin's team score. Malik Broughton won silver for Albany State. His last cleared height was 1.98m. Finishing third was Kentucky State's Troy Churchill, Jr., whose last cleared height was 1.92m.

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Lincoln Blue Tigers Win Four Races, Post 10 Top-Two Results at the Drake Relays

The Lincoln Women Sweep the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 Relays

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Lincoln's men's and women's track & field teams combined to win four races and post 10 total top-two finishes at the Drake Relays this weekend (April 24-26).

The Blue Tiger women claimed three of those victories, sweeping the 4x100m, 4x400m and 4x800m relays. In the latter two events, both Willomena Williams and Jhevere Hall were members of the winning teams. In the 4x400m, they were joined by Tamara Keane and Donna-Lee Hylton as the foursome won in 3:37.77. Meanwhile, in the 4x800m, Williams and Hall were joined by Ebony Rose and Monique Thompson to claim victory in 8:52.53.

The winning 4x100m relay team consisted of Judith Riley, Yanique Ellington, Kimberly Bailey and Janae Johnson, with the foursome finishing first in 45.59. Ellington and Johnson later teamed with Keane and Hylton in the 4x200m relay, with the foursome finishing as the runners-up with a time of 1:36.29.

The LU women also posted three other second-place results, including in the distance medley, where the group of Hall, Williams, Thompson and Marcia Harrison clocked in at 11:37.28. Thompson and Williams also helped the 1600 sprint medley team to a second-place finish, joining with Keane and Johnson to time in at 3:54.15. The other runner-up result came in the 4x100m shuttle hurdle preliminaries, as Shakeisha Miller, Juneille Barker, Nadia Harriott and Ladonna Richards finished in 55.64. The foursome did not finish in the finals.

The Lincoln men also had three top-two results, with the highlight of the meet coming in the preliminaries of the 4x100m relay. The foursome of Wesley Best, Romel Lewis, Romone Hill and Michael Ashley won the prelims with a time of 40.73. The group did not end up finishing in the finals.

The 4x200m squad came in second, with the grouping of Best, Hill, Ashley and Khorey Spalding clocking in at 1:26.16. Lincoln also turned in a second-place result in the 1600 sprint medley, as Best, Hill, Jermaine Blake and Neville Daley combined to finish in 3:24.81.

The LU men had two other notable results on the afternoon, including in the 800m, where Blake finished third at 1:53.12. Blake was also a part of Lincoln's 4x400m relay team, joining with Roger Blake, Winston Edwards and Ashley. That foursome came in sixth after clocking in at 3:12.59.

Up next for both Blue Tiger squads is the 2014 MIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which this year will be hosted in Jefferson City, Mo. by Lincoln University. The three-day championship meet will be held at Dwight T. Reed Stadium next Friday, Saturday and Sunday (May 2-4).

Final Results

Dan Carr, Assistant AD for Media Relations

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Savannah State Men's Golf Moves Into Second Place in 2014 MEAC Golf Championship Tournament

TRAVIS ROE
5'7" JUNIOR
HOMETOWN: CUMMING, GEORGIA
Photo courtesy of SSU Athletics

Round Two Results  |  Round Three Pairings  |  Live Scoring 

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Behind some stellar play from Travis Roe and Brandon Neals, the Savannah State men's golf team moved into second place in round two of the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at Crosswinds Golf Club in Savannah.

Neals shot a 70 in round two to drop to one under par for the tournament, after opening with a 73 on Friday. Neals is in third in the individual race, behind Bethune-Cookman's Ryan and Leon Fricker.

Roe improved his first round 75 to a 69 on day two, moving to even for the tournament. He's tied for fourth place overall with Florida A&M's Kevin Parker. Roe eagled the sixth hole, and concluded the day with a birdie on 18.

The Tigers as a team shot 285 in the second round moving into to second place behind Bethune-Cookman. After two rounds, SSU has a 585 team score.

SSU's Scott Rogers improved in the second round as well, finishing with a 72. Trevor Podner and Joseph Barrows each took two strokes off their first round scores, shooting a 74 on Saturday.

The Cookman Wildcats maintained their team and individual lead through the second round with a team score of 285.  Ryan and Leon lead the individual race, each having shot a 69 in both the first and second rounds.

Leon leads the field in eagles with three. Ryan leads the field in par four scoring (-2), par five scoring (-8), and in birdies (12). Roe leads in pars with 26 overall.

Florida A&M's Justin Stills led the field in round two with a 66, after shooting an 80 on day one. The Crosswinds course record is currently 63. Stills' exceptional play on Saturday carried his team into third place.

The Rattlers have a two-round team score of 588. North Carolina Central dropped out of the running with a tough second day. The team dropped to a second round score of 308, after opening the championship with a 299.

Hampton University sits in fifth place with a 636, followed by Maryland Eastern Shore in sixth with a 670.

The third and final round of the MEAC Championship begins on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. The trophy ceremony will be held immediately after the final scores are brought in on Sunday.

The winner of the MEAC Championship will receive an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Regional Tournament May 15-17.

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B.J. Rowry helps Southern split with Grambling

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana  -- First baseman B.J. Rowry will be among five seniors honored before their final home baseball game at Southern on Sunday.

But Rowry grabbed the spotlight a day early as he went 6-for-7 with four RBIs as the Jaguars split a doubleheader with Grambling on Saturday at Lee-Hines Field.

Rowry went 4-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs as Southern won the second game 6-5 in 10 innings. In the Jaguars’ 6-3 loss in the first game, he was 2-for-3 with a home run.

“I’m just enjoying the fact that I’m out here,” he said. “That’s the attitude I took into game one and game two.”

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St. Aug 4x100 Men Run Season Best Time at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania  --  The foursome of Daniel Jamieson (Soph./Windsor, CT), Taffawee Johnson (Sr./St. Ann, Jamaica), Burkheart Ellis Jr. (Soph./Raleigh, NC) and Jermaine Jones (Jr./Wilmington, NC) of Saint Augustine's University ran a season-high 39.19 seconds in the men's 4x100 Championship of America relay on the final day of the 2014 Penn Relays before a crowd of 49,103 at Franklin Field on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Saturday's attendance was the seventh largest in Penn Relays history.

The men's 4x100 squad finished third in the event, which was televised by NBC Sports Network. Only UTech of Jamaica (38.71) and Division I LSU (38.83) ran faster than the Falcons, who entered the prestigious meet as the top-ranked Division II 4x100 relay squad. Five Division I schools were in the eight-team relay.

St. Aug capped the prestigious three-day meet with two third-place relay finishes.  The group of Roxroy Cato (Sr./St. Mary's, Jamaica), James Quarles (Sr./Washington, DC), Kevaughn Hewitt (Sr./Miamar, FL) and Joshua Edmonds (Sr./Jacksonville, FL) finished third in the men's 4x400 college division relay with a time of 3:07.06. Only Indiana Tech (3:06.80) and G.C. Foster of Jamaica (3:06.98) ran faster than the Falcons, ranked No. 1 in Division II in the 4x400 relay.

The Falcons' foursome of Edmonds, Johnson, Jamieson and Jones finished fourth in the men's 4x200 Championship of America relay with a time of 1:21.91. The event was also televised by NBC Sports Network. David Shaw Jr. (Jr./Red Springs, NC) placed fourth in the men's college division triple jump with a career outdoor mark of 49-7¼.

The Lady Falcons' squad of Tia-Adana Belle (Fr./Jamaica), Cherrisse Lynch (Jr./St. Lawrence, Barbados), Brittany Brown (Sr./Akron, OH) and Akeisha Dumont (Jr./Brooklyn, NY) placed fifth in the women's 4x400 college division relay with a time of 3:40.82. DeJon Wilkinson (Sr./Summerville, SC) of St. Aug was eighth in the men's Championship triple jump with a leap of 49-2¼.

The Falcons were coming off victories in three events the first two days. On Friday, world leader Cato won the men's 400 Championship hurdles and Shaw Jr. took the men's college division long jump. Shakinah Brooks (Fr./Raleigh, NC) won the women's college division long jump Thursday.

The Falcons and Lady Falcons have won 34 NCAA Division II indoor and outdoor titles under legendary Head Coach George Williams. The men's team is the two-time NCAA indoor and defending outdoor champs in addition to being the top-ranked Division II squad in the nation.
    
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Tuskegee Defeats Albany State, Claims 2014 Softball Championship

2014 SIAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY GOLDEN TIGERETTES
Photo courtesy of TheSIAC.com

HAMPTON, Georgia  — The Tigerettes of Tuskegee University defeated the Lady Rams of Albany State University, 11-7, to claim the 2014 SIAC Softball Championship today at Gerald Matthews Complex in Hampton, Georgia.

Tuskegee, the top seed from the Western Division, scored three runs in both the first and second innings to jump out to an early 6-0 lead. Both teams went scoreless in the third inning before Albany State would get on the board with a run in the top of the fourth, by way of a home run by third baseman Toni Coleman.

Tuskegee would counter with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth, before the Lady Rams would rally to score six runs on five hits, three of them being home runs, in the top of the fifth.

Tigerettes head coach Edward Colvin then turned to Latifah Kelly, the 2014 SIAC Starting Pitcher of the Year, to close the game. Kelly pitched the final 2.1 innings, striking out two, allowing one walk, one hit and one run en route to earning MVP honors and a spot on the All-tournament team.

Offensively, Tuskegee was led by third baseman Roslyn Thomas, who drove in four runs during the contest. Designated hitter Denavia Harrison (3 RBI's), shortstop Karisa Foye (2 RBI's) and outfielder Chante Warner (2 RBI's) each supplied multiple RBI's for the Tigerettes.

Albany State was led offensively by Coleman, who went 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs. Coleman and catcher Chaconna Marks were the only Lady Rams to homer, with Marks also driving in two scores.

2014 SIAC Softball All-Tournament team:

1. Latifah Kelly - Tuskegee University
2. Karisa Foye - Tuskegee University
3. Roslyn Thomas - Tuskegee University
4. Chaconna Marks - Albany State University
5. Chelsea Hicks - Albany State University
6. Toni Coleman - Albany State University
7. Markea Sheppard - Claflin University
8. Amanda Evans - Claflin University
9. Sabriya Brooks - Benedict College
10. Alia Williams - Clark Atlanta University

Tournament MVP: Latifah Kelly - Tuskegee University

Most Outstanding Coach: Edward Colvin - Tuskegee University

Third Place: Claflin University

Runner-Up: Albany State University

2014 SIAC Softball Champions: Tuskegee University

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FAMU Splits Doubleheader at NCCU 5-8 & 7-3

DURHAM, North Carolina  –  Florida A&M (19-22, 11-8 MEAC) split a conference doubleheader with North Carolina Central (16-26-1, 11-10 MEAC) on Saturday at the Durham Athletic Park in Durham, NC. The Eagles rallied from a 5-3 deficit in the eighth inning of game one to win 8-5, while the Rattlers bounced back to take game two 7-3 while pounding out 11 hits.

Marlon Gibbs was 4-for-8 on the day with one RBI and three runs scored, including his first home run of the season. Bennie Robinson added three RBI over both games while hitting 3-for-9 and two runs scored.

Brandon Fleming (3-4) suffered the loss in game one for the Rattlers after allowing four runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Game two starter David Duncan (3-4) won the second game for Florida A&M while giving up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts in five solid innings of work.

FAMU grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one. Gibbs smacked his first home run of the season, a two out shot to give the Rattlers the early lead.

NCCU answered with a pair of solo home runs by Carlos Ortiz and Carter Williamson in the home half of the first inning to give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.

The Rattlers would tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth. Gibbs led off the fourth inning with a single to left and moved to second courtesy of a balk from Eagles starting pitcher Kyle Shields. Ryan Kennedy followed with a groundout to second to advance Gibbs to third before Jeremy Barlow’s sac fly to left plated Gibbs for the tying run. After scoring the tying run, Florida A&M worked the bases loaded with two outs before Logan Seymour grounded out to third to end the scoring opportunity.

The Eagles had a scoring chance in the fifth as Zack Lee reached on an error to lead off the inning and stole second with no outs. After a pair of fly outs, Williamson was intentionally walked before Rattler starting pitcher Jarrell shut the door on the NCCU scoring chance by striking out Bryant Battle to end the inning.

Central regained the lead at 3-2 in the seventh on Williamson’s RBI single through the right side. Ortiz was hit-by-pitch and moved up two bases to third on a two-out single to right from Tyson Simpson to setup Williamson’s go ahead RBI single.

FAMU took their first lead since the first inning at 5-3 in the eighth. Bennie Robinson’s two-run blast off the warehouse building that is located beyond the fence in right gave FAMU the lead in the eighth inning at 4-3. After a Gibbs single, Michael Birdsong reached on a fielder as NCCU second baseman Jared Kehagias dropped the ball, for a fielding error, trying to catch Gibbs advancing to second base. With runners on first and second, Ryan Hutson singled to second but Kehagias second error of the inning, this time with a high throw to first, allowed Gibbs to score all the way from second base.

After falling behind 5-3 in the top of the eighth, North Carolina Central answered with five runs on three hits in the eighth. Simpson’s three-run home run off of the first pitch from Rattler reliever Blake Quillin proved to be the difference for final score of 8-5 in game one.

Just as they did in game one Florida A&M scored first in game two. The Rattlers scored a pair of runs on four hits in the first inning. Quillin and Robinson recorded back-to-back singles to lead off the game and Gibbs sac bunt back to the pitcher moved both runners up a base. With runners now on second and third, Kennedy singled through the right side to plate Quillin for the first run of the game and Birdsong followed with an RBI double off the fence in right to score Robinson.

The Rattlers pushed their lead to 5-0 with three more runs in the top of the third in what turned out to be more than the Eagles could overcome. Birdsong and Kennedy had back-to-back, one out, base hits and Kennedy later advanced to third on Hutson’s fly out to right. Kendall Weeks’ RBI single plated Kennedy for the third run of the game for FAMU. Peter Jackson continued the scoring with a two-run double to right, bringing home both Birdsong and Weeks for the second and third runs of the inning.

NCCU cut into the Florida A&M lead with three runs on three hits in the fifth for the score of 5-3. Kehagias opened the home half of the fifth drawing a four-pitch walk for the Eagles and scored all the way from first on Christian Triplett’s RBI double down the left line for the first run of game two for NCCU. Kory Wood followed with a triple into the left center gap to plate Triplett and Lee’s RBI ground out to second allowed Wood to score the third and final run of the game for Central.

FAMU increased its lead to what was the final score of 7-3 in game two with two more runs in the sixth inning. Jackson walked and Ferdinand Rondon singled to right with one out, before Quillin reached on a fielder’s choice to put Jackson on third as Rondon was out at second on the play. Jackson then came home to score on a wild pitch from Eagle reliever Morris Jones and an RBI single from Robinson later scored Quillin from second.

Cetnral reliever Jake Russell (4-4) earned the game one win for the Eagles, while game two starter Terry McNabb (2-7) was tagged with the loss.

Florida A&M and North Carolina Central will wrap up their regular season series on Sunday at 1:00 pm.

As always, fans can follow Rattler Baseball on Twitter @FAMUAthletics and live stats will be available via www.FAMUAthletics.com.

GAME ONE (HTML)      I     GAME TWO (HTML)

By Michael Morrell/Special to FAMU Athletics
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