HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Alcorn State University track and field athletes achieved a series of personal bests and record-breaking performances at the Southern Miss Invitational held April 3-4 at the Marshall Bell Track and Field Complex.
The Braves recorded nine personal-best performances, including a school- and stadium-record time. On the women’s side, Sariah Magee finished third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.79 seconds, while Taliya Spurlock placed eighth with a time of 12.21 seconds.
Myshell Hurse posted a personal-best 24.77 seconds in the 200 meters, finishing fifth, with teammate Spurlock close behind in sixth at 24.95 seconds. Izayla Harris recorded a personal-best 55.65 seconds in the 400 meters, finishing second. Brianna Wilson ran a 58.56 in the same race to place ninth.
In the hurdles, freshman Kayotric Taplin posted a personal-best 14.08 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing third. Kaitlynn Gates and Kaylin White clocked 14.42 and 14.87 seconds, respectively. Sanaa Parker finished second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.21.
The women’s 4×400 relay team of Rikki Gray, Brianna Wilson, Sanaa Parker and Izayla Harris finished second with a time of 3:54.29. The relay team of Magee, Hurse, White and Jaleah Netter placed third in 3:58.61. In field events, Taylar Brown was third in the long jump at 5.51 meters, and Destinee Lanham threw a personal-best 41.83 meters in the discus, placing fourth overall.
For the men’s team, Trellas Forrest set a personal-best 20.85 seconds in the 200 meters, finishing third. Jaden Gardner and Beethoven Phanord also performed well, finishing eighth and 10th in the same event. Derrick Williams posted a personal-best 47.19 seconds in the 400 meters, finishing second.
Kendrick Matthews ran a 4:21.98 in the 1500 meters, also a personal best, with teammate Darrian Wells finishing in 4:26.47. Bryan Alvarez completed the 3000 meters in 9:37.16. The men’s 4×100 relay team finished second in 40.35 seconds, and the 4×400 relay team set a new school, meet, and stadium record with a time of 3:09.69. The team included Gardner, Williams, Summage and Forrest.
In throwing events, Jadan Miller finished sixth in the shot put at 15.18 meters and seventh in the discus at 45.97 meters. Head coach Alonzo Banks noted the athletes’ progress and emphasized the team’s ongoing development. “We still have a lot of room to grow, and that’s the encouraging part,” Banks said. “If we’re running these kinds of times now, then I believe the best is still ahead of us.”
Alcorn State will compete next at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, April 17-18. Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@BravesSports), Instagram (@AlcornSports), and YouTube (Braves Sports Network) for updates.
