Records Fall, Edward Waters Tigers Dominate at 2017 GCAC Track and Field Championship

New Orleans – With expectations high of each school, competitive energy was through the roof at the 2017 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Track and Field Championship, sponsored by Triple B's Cajun Corner and LCMC Health.

Several meet records fell at the annual track and field competition, many at the hands of the Edward Waters (Fla.) College Tigers. Thrower Greg Bradshaw took down the meet record of 37.91 meters in the men's hammer with a throw of 41.94 meters to start the Tigers off with a win to begin the day. Coming in to the championship, hurdler Carl Elliott, III was ranked No. 8 in the nation, but rose to No. 2 with a 14.24 second performance to win the top spot in the 110-meter hurdles.

The Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) Knights again proved their dominance in the sprints. Shadae Gylton took town fellow Lady Knight Orenthia Bennett's 2015 54.94 400-meter record in 2015 with a time of 54.17. The Lady Knights 3200-meter relay team of Shantae Green,

Kimona Smikle, also broke the meet record held by the 2012 Lady Knights relay team. Shadae Hilton took down fellow Lady Knight Orenthia Bennett's 2015 400-meter dash record with a time of 54.17. The Lady Knights' 3200-meter relay team beat the Conference record by a second, coming in at 9:54. Sprinter Jahnoy Thompson took first in the men's 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes.
Conference records were also broken in the field events. Dillard University's Quamel Sessoms destroyed the previous meet record of 7.09 meters in the long jump with a final distance of 7.67 meters. Ellexsie Haughton, representing Edward Waters College, brought down the women's shot putt record of 12.21 meters with a final mark of 12.36 meters.

Three teams saw their campaigns for national glory kept alive. All three men's 400-meter relay teams from Edward Waters (Reginald Wright, Dontae LeCorn, Heiden Cummings and Wayne Richardson), SUNO (Chadwayne Vidale, Danielle Richards, Brian Smith and Jahnoy Thompson) and Dillard University (Quamel Sessoms, Larry Trimble, Tyrone Barrow and Artis McCoy) hit National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Outdoor Nationals qualifying times in the event. Individually, Edward Waters' Hieden Cummings hit an NAIA-B qualifying time of 21.56 in the men's 200-meter dash. Dillard's Kahlia Columbis qualified for NAIA Outdoor Nationals in the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 56.35 in her third place finish.

The Edward Waters Lady Tigers and Xavier Gold Rush battled for the women's championship throughout the day, until the strength of the Gold Rush distance corps pulled away in the women's 5000m. The top 4 runners in the event were Taylor Price, Dionysia Love, Brianna Pace and Maliya Vaughn, respectively, earning the Gold Rush 26 points in the event to Edward Waters' 3, and bringing their totals to 183 and 177 points as the day wound to a close.

On the men's side, strong performances by the Tigers placed them solidly in first place early, and they simply never let up. Edward Waters nearly doubled the total points earned by their nearest competitors, the scrappy Dillard University Bleu Devils. In the end, Edward Waters finished with 303 points to Dillard's 149.

Full meet results are available at RedStixtiming.com.

GULF COAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEDIA RELATIONS

Langston Picked 2nd in CSFL Spring Coaches Poll

LANGSTON, Oklahoma -- Arizona Christian University was voted as the league's favorite in the 2017 Central States Football League (CSFL) Spring Coaches Poll. The Firestorm won its second consecutive conference championship last season and posted a perfect 6-0 record in CSFL play along with a 7-3 overall record. ACU received 63 points in the poll and took seven of the nine first place votes. The poll is comprised strictly of the league's head coaches vote.

Langston University was ranked second and finished six points behind ACU. The Lions received 57 total points and received a first place vote. Wayland Baptist University (Tex.) also received a first place vote and finished third in the poll with 50 votes.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University (Tex.) sewed up fourth place with 39 points and Oklahoma Panhandle State University, who recently was granted membership into the NAIA, ranked fifth with 37 total points. Lyon College (Ark.) landed in the sixth spot with 30 points and Bacone College was ranked seventh with 23 votes. CSFL newcomer Texas Wesleyan University received 14 votes and was polled in eighth place, while Texas College rounded out the poll with 11 points.

During the 2017 season, nine teams will compete for the CSFL title, including four teams from Texas, three schools from Oklahoma and one University out of Arizona and Arkansas. The CSFL is comprised of Arizona Christian University, Bacone College, Langston University, Lyon College (Ark.), Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Southwestern Assemblies of God University (Tex.), Wayland Baptist University (Tex.), Texas College and Texas Wesleyan University.

2017 CSFL Preseason Poll
Rank School Points (1st Place Votes)
1 Arizona Christian University 63 (7)
2 Langston University 57 (1)
3 Wayland Baptist University (Tex.) 50 (1)
4 Southwestern Assemblies of God Univ. (Tex.) 39
5 Oklahoma Panhandle State University 37
6 Lyon College (Ark.) 30
7 Bacone College 23
8 Texas Wesleyan University 14
9 Texas College 11

CSFL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

Wiley Wildcats' Dynasty Continues With Fourth Straight RRAC Championship

TATUM, Texas – The Wiley College men's track field team exerted its dominance over the Red River Athletic Conference with its fourth consecutive title Saturday at Tatum Eagle Stadium.

The Wildcats scored 266 points which was far and above Our Lady of the Lake University's 94. They won 11 of 13 running events. Marbeq Edgar (JR/Choiseul, St. Lucia) and Laban Kandie (FR/Kenya) shared the High Point Athlete with 36 points. Edgar won the 800-meter run (1:54.04) and the 1,500-meter run (4:08.15). He was runner up to Kandie in the 3,000-meter (9:25.94) and 5,000-meter (16:32.01) runs. Kandie won the 3,000-meter run in 9:20.59 and the 5,000-meter run in 15:23.37.

Overall, Kandie won three races with his victory in the 10,000-meter run Friday. Kandie was third in the 1,500-meter run (4:14.43).

Oraine Palmer (SO/Kingston, Jamaica) won the 100 and 200-meter dashes in 10.42 and 21:28. He was a member of the RRAC Champion 4 x 100-meter relay team with Jesse Berkley (JR/Siparia, Trinidad), Quinn-Lee Ralph (SR/Trinidad &Tobago) and Machael Mark (SR/Princess Town, Trinidad). Rajay Hamilton (JR/Jamaica) won the 400-meter dash in 47.80. Jose Garcia (FR/La Joya, Texas), Roger Ali (SR/Enterprise, Trinidad ), Hamilton and Kimorie Shearman (FR/St. Vincent) narrowly won the 4 x 400-meter relay at 3:15.94.

Wiley College had RRAC All-Conference athletes in almost every event Saturday. Ralph was runner up in the 100-meter (10.50), 200-meter (21.38) and 400-meter dashes (48.10). His time in the 400-meter dash surpassed the NAIA 'A' Qualifying standard. Mark finished third in the 100-meter dash (10.74). Hamilton finished second in the 1,500-meter run (4:13.90) and was third in the 200-meter dash (21.96) and 800-meter run (2:00.38). Shevan Parks (FR/Jamaica) finished second in the 800-meter run (2:00.35) and third in the 5,000-meter run (16:33.97). Shearman finished third in the 400-meter dash (48.96). Kendell Perouza (SR/Barataria, Trinidad) finished third in the 400-meter hurdles (55.54).

RESULTS

WILEY COLLEGE WILDCATS SPORTS INFORMATION

Former Maryland Terp Juan Dixon to be next men's basketball coach at Coppin State

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Juan Dixon, who left Baltimore nearly 20 years ago for College Park and went on to become one of the biggest stars in the history of the Maryland men’s basketball program, is finally coming home.

Dixon, 38, will be the next men’s basketball coach at Coppin State in West Baltimore. Sources familiar with the situation said Saturday that he has accepted the job and will be introduced in the coming week.



In a text to The Baltimore Sun on Saturday, a Coppin State athletic department spokesman said, “Coppin State will be making a statement next week regarding the next coach of the men’s basketball team. Date and time to be determined.”

It marks the first time Dixon, who was the all-time leading scorer for the Terps and the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player in leading Maryland to its only national championship in 2002, will run a Division I men’s program.

After a seven-year NBA career that began as a Washington Wizards first-round draft pick and a brief stay in Europe, Dixon returned to the college game as a special assistant to Maryland coach Mark Turgeon in 2013.

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Can Juan Dixon turn Coppin State into a mid-major contender?

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Juan Dixon is a historically important college basketball player. In an era of the sport when it wasn’t yet as easily accessible as it is today, he transcended the game. Time has gone by, however. The world is different. Gone is the player, and in its place is a Division I basketball coach.

That’s right. Juan Dixon is going to once again attempt to create greatness. This time, it will be as the head coach of Coppin State.

It is hard to put into words as to how important Dixon was to Maryland. Maybe it is partially this author romanticizing him over the years to the point it no longer matches any facts, but Dixon was to the Maryland Terrapins to what most marquee players are to blue-blood programs.



With Gary Williams’ face forever implanted on one cheek, Dixon was the other half of the face of Maryland hoops.

A thorough history lesson is not needed when discussing him in terms of his lasting impression. We can point to his prolific scoring (because it was prolific) as proof of his impact, or Maryland’s rise to national prominence during his tenure with the program to help better understand the impression he left, but his long lasting legacy is that he — along with help, obviously — aided in making Maryland, well, Maryland (at least for my generation).

Is some of that hyperbolic? No. Maybe. Probably.

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SAU Men Breeze To 20th Consecutive CIAA Track and Field Title; SAU Women Place Third

Shakinah Brooks And Anthony Soriano Win CIAA MVP Awards

BOWIE, Maryland -- On Saturday, the Saint Augustine's University men won its 20th consecutive title and the Saint Augustine's University women finished third in the CIAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the Bowie State University campus.

The Falcons, led by CIAA Men's Field MVP Anthony Soriano (Fr./Riverside, CA), scored 174.5 points to cruise past Virginia Union (126.5) and Virginia State (105) in the men's events. Johnson C. Smith was fourth (100) followed by Bowie State (61), Lincoln (Pa.) (50) and Livingstone (24).

The Lady Falcons scored 131 points to finish third in the women's standings. Winston-Salem State nipped Johnson C. Smith 145-144 after scoring nine points in the final event - the discus throw. The Golden Bulls, who were the defending champions, led 144-136 after winning the 4x400 relay.

Virginia State was fourth (48), Livingstone placed fifth (46) and Bowie State finished sixth (43.5). Shaw placed seventh (31) followed by Lincoln (Pa.) (19.5) and Virginia Union (13).

Soriano scored 26 points for the Falcons by placing second in the high jump and the javelin throw, third in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump. Shakinah Brooks (Sr./Raleigh, NC) was named CIAA Women's Field MVP after scoring 22 points for the Lady Falcons. She was victorious in the long jump and placed second in the triple jump for 18 points in addition to finishing sixth in the 100 dash and eighth in the 200 dash.

Brooks was one of several championship winners for the Falcons and Lady Falcons. Jumonne Exeter (Jr./St. Vincent) and Shaquille Dill (So./Pembroke, Bermuda) both won two events with Exeter taking the long jump and triple jump and Dill earning the 800 and 1500 runs. Shawn Rowe (Sr./West Palm Beach, FL) was victorious in the 400 hurdles and Tia-Adana Belle (Sr./St. George, Barbados) was the winner in the women's 400 hurdles.

SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

WSSU women win CIAA track title

BOWIE, Maryland -- Winston-Salem State scored 145 points to beat Johnson C. Smith by one to win the CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held over the last two days at Bowie State.

The Rams finished with 145 points and the Golden Bulls were next with 144. St. Aug’s was third with 131 points and Virginia State was fourth with 48 points.

St. Aug’s won the men’s title with 174.5 points with Virginia Union second with 126.5 points.

Taska Johnson of the Rams was second in the 1,500 and 800 meter runs. Teammate Ty-Leah Hampton won the 100 meters and the 200 meters. Kayla Foy was second in the 100 meters and Dom Kiplagat of the Rams won the 3,000 meters.

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