Belcher, NCA&T Aggies Make History at NCAA Nationals

EUGENE, Oregon – North Carolina A&T senior sprinter Christopher Belcher wasn't nervous. He wasn't intimated. He even described himself as ready to go before his three event finals Friday at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field. He was just running against some of the best athletes in the world.

That may have been easy to forget after Belcher's terrific performance Wednesday when he qualified for the three national finals with a 38.48 as a part of the 4x100 meter relay, a 9.93 in the 100 meters and a 20.01 in the 200m. Friday wasn't Wednesday but Belcher helped the Aggies reach the award podium twice with top-3 placements. Along with freshman Jaylen Mitchell, senior Caleb Gabriel and sophomore Rodney Rowe, Belcher helped the 4x1 team finish third nationally in 38.57.

Approximately 45 minutes later Belcher placed third in the 100m final in 10.19. After another approximate 45-minute layoff, Belcher finished fifth in the 200m final in 20.66. Belcher walked away from NCAA nationals with three first-team All-American honors. He has four for his career after earning second-team All-American honors in 2016 with the 4x1 team. He is the first Aggie to come away with multiple All-American honors from the NCAA championships.

NCAA FINALS RESULTS



“Today was a struggle, but I am so blessed to be here,” said a winded Belcher after his third event on Friday. “It's not easy to get here. Being here means the world to me. To come out here and race the best in the country, it doesn't get any better than this. I wasn't even nervous today. I already know I'm going to see the best in the world. Coming into these big events I was always nervous with the bubble guts all the time. Today, I was ready to go.”

As a team, the Aggies finished tied for 14th nationally with 16 points, the highest finish ever for an historically black college or university. N.C. A&T finished tied for third among non-Power 5 conference schools (ACC, Big 10, Pac-12, Big 12, SEC). Florida took home the team national championship. The Aggies may have gone higher, but sophomore triple jumper Lasheon Strozier fouled on all four of his jumps Friday.

“We made history this week and I'm proud of that,” said director of track and field programs Duane Ross. “There are more than 250 Division I track and field teams in America. To finish where we finished is a true achievement. I'm proud of these guys.”

The 4x1 team ran their second-fastest time of the season, finishing behind NCAA champion Houston and second-place finisher Auburn. The Aggies had a good first exchange between Mitchell and Belcher as the Aggies came out of the first split in sixth place. Belcher helped the Aggies make up some ground, but the exchange between him and Gabriel wasn't as smooth. When Gabriel gave the baton to Rowe to run the anchor the Aggies were a part of the pack. But Rowe ran past runners from Texas A&M and Texas to make one last effort to win the national title. But Rowe, who completed his split in 9.5 seconds, ran out of track as Houston crossed in 38.34 and Auburn crossed in 38.48.

"We've come a long way when you think about it," said Gabriel, who ran the third leg. "We didn't even make the final last year and this year we're No. 3 team in the country. It still hurts because we wanted to win it. We came in really feeling like we had a chance to win it."

N.C. A&T's third-place finish in an NCAA 4x1 final is the best in school history, surpassing the 2001 team of Timothy Walls, Theo Wilds, Gerald Wright and Titus Haywood who finished fifth in 39.48. "We could have run a better race. I'm sure there are a lot of the things to critique. But at the end of the day we have to be happy with the progress we've made," said Gabriel. "The good news is, the program is good enough to get back here and do better."

Belcher's chief competition in the 100m was Tennessee's Christian Coleman who ran an NCAA record 9.82 on Wednesday. Coleman jumped out to an early start on Belcher and won the national championship in 10.04. Houston's Cameron Burrell came in second in 10.12. Coleman won the 200m as well (20.25).

“He is the best starter in the world, so I definitely didn't get out the way I wanted to,” said Belcher about the 100m race. “He is a talented guy. I know what I did wrong. We're going to go out there and fix whatever needs to be fixed and get ready for U.S. championships.”

The next step for Belcher, who solidified himself as an Aggie legend this week, is the USATF Outdoor Championships at Sacramento State in California June 22-25.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

XULA Rush have 3 ITA All-Americans, No. 2 doubles team

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana, the No. 2 team in NAIA men's tennis each of the past two seasons, had three players named Thursday to the 2017 ITA NAIA All-America team: senior Karan Salwan and freshmen Moses Micheal and Antoine Richard.

     
The ITA designates as All-America the top 20 singles players and top 10 doubles teams in its postseason individual national rankings. In singles, Richard was ranked third, Micheal 13th and Salwan 15th. In doubles, Richard and Micheal were second — the highest-ever ITA NAIA national ranking for the Gold Rush at any point in a season.
     
Salwan, from New Delhi, India, is ITA All-America for the second straight year. Micheal is from Kaduna, Nigeria, and Richard is from Laval, Quebec.
     
Salwan, Micheal and Richard earned berths May 23 on the NAIA's committee-selected All-America team.
     
Fourteen NAIA schools accounted for the 31 ITA men's All-Americans. National champion Georgia Gwinnett and semifinalist Campbellsville had four honorees apiece, and William Carey, Northwestern Ohio and San Diego Christian joined XULA with three apiece.
     
The XULA women produced no ITA All-Americans but had three — sophomore Charlene Goreau and seniors Emma Kranendonk and Brandi Nelson — in the final national or South Region rankings.

XULA's All-Time List of ITA NAIA Men's All-Americans
2007-08 — Miroslav Vukicevic 2010-11 — Hassan Abbas, Zach Taylor 2011-12 — Loic Didavi, Zach Taylor 2012-13 — Loic Didavi, Kyle Montrel 2013-14 — Kyle Montrel 2014-15 — Kyle Montrel 2015-16 — Kevin Chaouat, Kyle Montrel, Karan Salwan, Thomas Setodji 2016-17 — Moses Micheal, Antoine Richard, Karan Salwan Most Years Earning ITA All-America:  Kyle Montrel 4, Loic Didavi 2, Karan Salwan 2, Zach Taylor 2
XULA in the 2016-17 End-of-Season ITA NAIA Rankings
Men's Singles
Name	Class	NAIA	Region
Antoine Richard	Fr.	3rd	3rd
Moses Micheal	Fr.	13th	7th
Karan Salwan	Sr.	15th	8th
Catalin Fifea	Jr.	26th	12th
Women's Singles
Name	Class	NAIA	Region
Charlene Goreau	So.	31st	11th
Brandi Nelson	Sr.	—	20th
Men's Doubles
Names (Class)	NAIA	Region
Antoine Richard (Fr.)-Moses Micheal (Fr.)	2nd	2nd
Pierre Andrieu (So.)-Catalin Fifea (Jr.)	12th	5th
Tushar Mandlekar (Sr.)-Karan Salwan (Sr.)	20th	9th
Women's Doubles
Names (Class)	NAIA	Region
Charlene Goreau (So.)-Emma Kranendonk (Sr.)	13th	9th

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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FAMU athletics finally has a balanced budget

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- For the first time in more than a decade, Florida A&M’s athletic department has a balanced yearly budget.

Athletic Director Milton Overton Jr. on Wednesday told members of the university’s Special Committee on Athletics he managed to turn a projected 2016-17 year-end deficit of $651,724 into a surplus of more than $9,000.

Overton announced the original budget shortfall in December.

It wasn’t easy – Overton insisted it wasn’t a one-man effort – but Wednesday’s announcement marks a reversal of years of overspending from the athletic department.

“There were a couple of things we did to address this deficit,” Overton told the committee. “Obviously, we reduced our expenses and increased our revenue. We reduced some salaries. We’re a little more efficient in terms of personnel and how we do business.”

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Salwan: 1st CoSIDA Academic All-American from tennis

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Karan Salwan was named Monday to the 2016-17 Academic All-America College Division Men's At-Large Team, making him the first XULA tennis player to receive this honor.
     
Academic All-America teams in the College Division are comprised of student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions and selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Beginning in 2008-09, eight XULA student-athletes have earned a combined 12 berths on Academic All-America teams. CoSIDA has sponsored the Academic All-America program since 1952.
     
Salwan, from New Delhi, India, attended XULA the past two years after transferring from NCAA Division I Utah State. The business management major graduated cum laude from XULA May 13 and with honors in business. On the court Salwan was NAIA All-America both seasons and helped the Gold Rush finish second in the 2016 and 2017 NAIA National Championships. Those are the only XULA teams in any sport to reach the final round of an NAIA national tournament.
     
"Karan has been a great addition to our program. He has probably been one of the smartest players I've ever had on the court," XULA coach Alan Green said. "He has also had one of our highest GPAs. He shows great respect to opposing players and coaches, and he has shown great leadership with our younger guys, using his experience to teach them how to be good team college tennis players. He has also been actively involved in the community with several service projects, most notably with the Salvation Army."

XULA's All-Time List of Academic All-Americans (chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America)
Year	Name	Sport	Team
2008-09	Joe Drexler-Dreis	Men's Track and Field/Cross Country	Second Team
2011-12	Matt Pieri	Men's Track and Field/Cross Country	Second Team
2011-12	Javon Mead	Men's Track and Field/Cross Country	Third Team
2012-13	Taylor Reuther	Women's Volleyball	Third Team
2012-13	Matt Pieri	Men's Track and Field/Cross Country	Second Team
2012-13	Javon Mead	Men's Track and Field/Cross Country	Third Team
2012-13	Catherine Fakler	Women's Track and Field/Cross Country	Second Team
2012-13	Devinn Rolland	Women's Track and Field/Cross Country	Second Team
2014-15	Catherine Fakler	Women's Track and Field/Cross Country	First Team
2014-15	Devinn Rolland	Women's Track and Field/Cross Country	First Team
2015-16	Brent Kitto	Men's Track and Field/Cross Country	Second Team
2016-17	Karan Salwan	Men's Tennis (at-large)	Second Team

Karan Salwan's XULA Honors

2015-16 •  NAIA All-America first team — selected by an NAIA committee •  NAIA All-America — selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association •  ITA Scholar-Athlete •  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Honor Roll •  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week (four times: Jan. 25-31, Feb. 1-7, Feb. 8-14 and April 18-24) •  All-Louisiana first team •  Louisiana Newcomer of the Year 2016-17 •  NAIA All-America second team — selected by an NAIA committee •  CoSIDA Academic All-America, College Division at-large second team •  CoSIDA Academic All-District, College Division District 2 at-large •  NAIA Champions of Character •  Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week (Jan. 23-29) •  All-Louisiana honorable mention Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold

End Of The Ride: B-CU's Run Stalls in Regional Final

GAINESVILLE, Florida -- Bethune-Cookman's wondrous run through the 2017 NCAA Gainesville Regional ended Monday with a 6-1 loss to the host University of Florida before a McKethan Stadium crowd of 2,166 and an internet thoroughly enamored by the Wildcats' bleached beards. And calm demeanor, despite the situation. And passion. And, well, everything about the program.

After losing to Bethune-Cookman for the first time in 31 meetings on Sunday night, the No. 3 national seed Florida Gators (45-17) got a three-run homer and a solid pitching effort from freshman lefty Austin Langworthy to advance to next weekend's Super Regionals, where they will host Wake Forest beginning Friday.

Bethune-Cookman, which defeated two nationally ranked teams in USF and Florida on Sunday and posted more regional victories (three) in 36 hours than the two in the previous 36 years, concludes the season at 36-25 with its 19th Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship. The 36 victories are the most in season in the Jason Beverlin era and third-most in program history.

Langworthy's yard shot broke open a scoreless tie. Before that, Florida put men on second and third on a questionable no-call on an infield error that appeared to cause interference from the batter trotting to first on the pop-up to first baseman Danny Rodriguez.

Bethune-Cookman broke the shutout in the seventh when Kyle Corbin scored from second when Josten Heron beat out a two-out infield single, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

Two teams supposedly all but depleted of pitching put on a defensive display the first five innings.

Bethune-Cookman forced Florida to leave eight runners in scoring position before the sixth, while the Gators limited the Wildcats to three hits during that time and seven overall.

Tyler Krull started, working three scoreless innings before yielding to Joseph Calamita. Isaak Gutierrez and Nate Sterijevski aBOXlso worked relief.

Adonis Lao and Heron each had two hits for the Wildcats.

For the tournament, Sterijevski finished with a .500 average (10-20) with one home run and eight RBI. Lao hit .352 (6-17) while Austin Garcia batted .333 (5-15).

BOX SCORE

BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Repairs to FAMU's Bragg Stadium to be completed by July

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Mandatory repairs to Florida A&M's Bragg Memorial Stadium are on schedule to be completed before the Aug. 26 start of football season.

A Power Point presentation that will be shown to the FAMU Board of Trustees' budget, finance and facilities committee on Wednesday shows the final cost of the repairs will be $390,968.35 -- a huge drop from the original estimated cost of $622,000.

The new, lower cost was provided by Tallahassee-based Barkley Consulting Engineers.

The Power Point says the repairs should be complete by the end of July. FAMU opens its season with the Jake Gaither Classic on Aug. 26 against Texas Southern.

The most recent competition held at Bragg was FAMU's spring game. Sections of the stadium were taped off during that game.

According to the Power Point, the scope of the work includes metal structural fabrications, cast in place reinforced concrete and masonry electrical, plumbing and selective painting.

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Pair of former Hampton Pirates coaches on College Football Hall of Fame ballot

IRVING, Texas – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced Thursday the names on the 2018 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, including 75 players and six coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 98 players and 31 coaches from the divisional ranks.

The announcement of the 2018 Class will be made Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta. The city is serving as the host for the CFP National Championship, which will be played later that day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Some of the inductees will be on site during the announcement to represent the class and share their thoughts on being elected. The Jan. 8 announcement will be televised live, and specific viewing information will be available as the date draws near. A few inductees will also participate in the pregame festivities and the coin toss before the championship game.



2018 DIVISIONAL COACH CANDIDATES

Gideon Smith -- Hampton (1921-40) - Led Pirates to 1922 Black College National Championship… Recorded four CIAA titles and two unbeaten seasons in career…Longest tenured coach in Hampton history, boasting the second-most wins all-time at the school.

Joe Taylor -- Howard (1983), Virginia Union (1984-91), Hampton (1992-07), Florida A&M (2008-12) - Winningest coach in Hampton history (74%), leading Pirates to four Black College National Championships…Led teams to 10 conference titles and 10 playoff appearances throughout career…Four-time MEAC Coach of the Year.

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