Alcorn State University’s men’s and women’s track teams achieved multiple personal and school records during a weekend series of meets at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The events, hosted by UAB, included the UAB Green and Gold Invite on Friday and the UAB Invite on Saturday.
Freshman Kayotric Taplin set a school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles on Saturday with a time of 8.62 seconds in the preliminaries. She finished eighth in the finals with a time of 8.78 seconds, according to UAB meet results. On the same day, Izayla Harris posted a personal best of 7.55 seconds in the women’s 60 meters, ranking 16th among HBCUs.
Alcorn coach Alonzo Banks praised the team’s performance, stating, “The weekend was great. I am very proud of the team and many outstanding performances, personal records, season-best marks and a school record-breaking win.”
Jaden Gardner finished fifth in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 48.89 seconds. In the women’s 400 meters, Rikki Gray clocked 57.09 seconds, and Myshell Hurse ran 57.12 seconds, placing seventh and eighth, respectively. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team posted a time of 3:12.31, moving them to seventh in HBCU rankings and 60th in Division I. The women’s 4×400 relay team finished third overall with a time of 3:48.48.
During Friday’s meet, Alcorn recorded 11 personal bests. Freshman Beethoven Phanord finished fourth in the men’s 60 meters with a time of 6.90 seconds, followed by Joe Coleman in seventh at 6.97 seconds. Taplin also placed fifth in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.73 seconds. Harris finished second in the women’s 200 meters in 24.32 seconds, ranking 14th among HBCUs, while Sariah Magee was fourth in 24.50 seconds. Derrick Williams was second in the men’s 200 meters at 21.18 seconds, and Trellas Forrest finished second in the men’s 400 meters with a time of 48.06 seconds.
Senior Rikki Gray finished fourth in the women’s 400 meters with a time of 57.04 seconds. Kaylin White, also a senior, placed first in both the long jump (5.59 meters) and shot put (11.26 meters), marking her dominance in the pentathlon events. The team is scheduled to compete February 21-22 at the SWAC Indoor Championships in Birmingham.
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