WINSTON-SALEM, NC (February 12, 2023) – The Claflin University men and the Fayetteville State University women are the first-day leaders at the 2023 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the JDL Fast Track on Sunday.

Fayetteville State, the two-time defending conference champions, heads the women's division with 70 points followed by Virginia State with 29 points and Winston-Salem State with 21 points. The last women's team to earn three consecutive league titles was Saint Augustine's when it won 14 straight from 1997 to 2010.

The Broncos' M'Smrya Seward, who was named the 2023 CIAA Women's Field Athlete of the Year on Sunday, captured the long jump with a leap of 5.97 meters. Seward finished second in the high jump (1.61 meters), behind Winston-Salem State University's Kennedy Alexander, who captured the title with a jump of 1.64 meters. Fayetteville State's Repline Cheptoo, who was recently named the 2023 CIAA Women's Track Athlete of the Year, qualified for Monday's finals in the 800 meters with a time of 2:28.08 and she finished third in the mile run with a time of 5:38.97. Emoni Coleman from Virginia State won the mile run, finishing in 5:36.14. In the women's distance medley relay, it was Fayetteville State that emerged victorious.

Claflin leads the men's division with 33 points. Lincoln (PA) University is second with 28 points, Saint Augustine's is third with 21 points.

The Panthers won two events Sunday as freshman Reginald Gore was the anchor in the Panthers' first-place distance medley relay team, who won in 11:02.78 and he captured the mile run title in 4:35 minutes. Additionally, Gore's time of 2:02.05 in the 800 meters qualified him for Monday's meet.

Lincoln (PA) is in second place after Day 1, thanks largely to Jeremy Gyan winning the pole vault (4.05 meters) and Glenn Butler Jr. repeating as long jump champion with a mark of 7.60 meters. Butler Jr. was named the 2023 CIAA Men's Field Athlete of the Year, earning the honor for the second straight season.

St. Augustine's finished second in the men's distance medley relay with a time of 11:08.97. Terrell Robinson, the 2023 CIAA Men's Track Athlete of the Year, will be looking to add to the Falcons' point total on Monday after finishing first in the preliminaries of both the 60 meters (6.77 seconds) and 200 meters (21.92 seconds).

The meet's final day is Monday, Feb. 13, starting at 9 a.m. with the women's Pentathlon 60-meter hurdles. The field events begin at 11:45 a.m. with the men's triple jump and the running events start at 12:35 p.m. with the men's 400-meter dash finals.

The awards ceremony will take place after the championship meet.

About the CIAA 
Founded in 1912, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is the first, and longest running, African American athletic conference in the U.S. and one of the most recognized conferences in Division II. The CIAA conducts 14 championships attended by more than 150,000 fans from around the country. In 2020, the conference celebrates the special 75th anniversary of its Championship Basketball Tournament - an event that has become a must-see in the African American community. The Basketball Tournament has been honored as a 2019 Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism by Sports Destination Management, the leading publication with the largest circulation of sports event planners and tournament directors in the sports tourism market, for both 2018 and 2019. 
 
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the CIAA is governed by the Presidents and Chancellors of its 12 member-institutions: Bowie State University, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, Johnson C. Smith University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Livingstone College, Saint Augustine's University, Shaw University, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University. Bluefield State will be added as the conference's 13th full member, effective July 1, 2023. For more information on the CIAA, visit theciaa.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.