WINSTON-SALEM, NC (February 13, 2023) - The Fayetteville State women and the Claflin men were crowned champions at the 2023 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the JDL Fast Track on Monday. The Broncos and Panthers held onto their positions after finishing Sunday's Day One in the lead.
In a tightly contested race that featured the top three men's teams within five points of each other, Claflin University won its first-ever men's indoor track & field championship with 98 points. Livingstone College finished in second place with 96 points and Saint Augustine's University captured third with 92 points.
The Broncos' title run was also impressive, scoring 185 points to outdistance themselves from the other eight competing programs. This is Fayetteville State's third consecutive CIAA indoor crown in its fourth season as a university-sponsored track and field program.
Virginia State University finished as the runner-up with 92 points and Winston-Salem State University placed third (68 points).
Fayetteville State's M'Smyra Seward, the Women's Field Most Valuable Player, captured the triple jump (12.03 meters) to go with her Long Jump title on Sunday. The Broncos finished well in the lead aided by Ashley Taylor winning the shot put (12.84 meters), Domanique Knowles winning the women's pentathlon, and the quartet of Teanna Bell, Jessica Queen, Queen Burnett, and Malaysia Barber winning the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:57.64.
Virginia State's Emoni Coleman was named Women's Track MVP after claiming the 800-meter title (2:20.30 minutes) Monday and the one-mile title Sunday. In other events, Claflin's Zoe Adams won the 400m with a time of 56.87. Ronne Tudor from Winston-Salem State University won the 60m dash with a time of 7.67. Virginia State's Elisha Barnes won the 200m (25.05 seconds) and Manuelene Deigh won the 3000m (11:13.44 minutes).
Claflin won multiple events to claim the conference crown. The Panthers' Jonathan Flemister won the 200-meter dash (22.35 seconds) and Zion Murry won the 800 meters (1:58.44) on Monday. Claflin also won the distance medley relay on Sunday and the 4x400m relay on Monday, which featured Murry, Flemister, Jaevon Riley, and Chandar Anderson racing in with a time of 3:19.47. The 800 meters was the Panthers' best event as they grabbed 21 points from the event with Reginald Gore finishing third (1:59.25) and Jakarriez Sanders fourth (1:59.65). Gore also finished first in the one mile on Sunday.
Livingstone's David Bradford was named the Men's Track Athlete MVP. Bradford won the 60-meter hurdles (8.27 seconds), finished second in the 400-meter (49.69 seconds), and third in both 200 meters (22.53) and 4x400-meter relay to guide the Blue Bears over St. Augustine's in the leaderboard.
The Falcons claimed two events when Terrell Robinson Jr. won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.77 seconds and Ha'Mir Hampton won the 400m in a time of 49.01.
Glenn Butler of Lincoln (PA) was the Men's Field MVP for the second year in a row after winning both the high jump and the long jump. In addition to Butler claiming two events, the Lions' Jeremy Gyan won the men's heptathlon and the pole vault (4.05 meters). The Lions finished fourth with 87 points.
Inez Turner of Fayetteville State was chosen as the CIAA Women's Coach of the Year and Garon Jackson of Claflin was named CIAA Men's Coach of the Year.
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.