BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Alabama State hit the track for the first time in the outdoor season at the Southern Invitational, hosted by Birmingham Southern this weekend.
The Alabama State women ran away with the team title with a total of 134 points, nearly 32 points ahead of second place Berry (102.5) and third place Alabama A&M (94). Meanwhile, on the men's side, Alabama State finished second with 85 points; finishing behind Southeastern who won the team title with 105.5 points.
The Lady Hornets dominated the 100-meter dash in the first outdoor event of the season, sweeping the top four spots in the race.
Kyana Evans claimed the title with a time of 12.31 seconds, while
Ulani Toussaint finished second in a time of 12.49 seconds. The Lady Hornets also had
Shamaria Lovett finish third with a time of 12.54 seconds, and
China Reed fourth in a time of 12.72 seconds.
Ariayanna Val finished inside the top 10 in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.84 seconds.
Lovett claimed second in the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.89 seconds, followed closely by teammate Toussaint with a time of 25.08 seconds. Taquaria Whiley finished inside the top with a time of 25.87 to finish seventh overall.
The Lady Hornets finished off the sprints competition with three student-athletes inside the top in the 400-meter dash.
Vinnelle Grant finished second overall in a time of 47.61 seconds, followed by
Arion Span in fourth in a time of 58.38 seconds and
Nia Jack in eighth with a time of 1:00.74. In hurdles competition.
Latisha Locker finished third overall with a time of 16.20 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.
Alabama State had several top finishes in field events on the women's side, including a third place finish from Locker in the high jump with height of 1.55 meters. She also finished third in the pole vault with a height of 3.05 meters, while
Kristen Thompson finished third in the hammer throw with a distance of 40.15 meters. Bridgette Williams finished in the top 10 of the hammer throw, finishing sixth with a distance of 36.54 meters, before finishing fourth in the javelin with a throw of 32.25 meters.
Locker also finished in the top in the javelin with a throw of 27.99 meters.
On the men's side,
Kevin Spraggins claimed gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.67 seconds, while three teammates finished in the top six.
Isaiah Ford finished fourth with a time of 11.06 seconds, Lezoghia Member-Meneh fifth in a time of 11.10 seconds, and
Floyd Green sixth with a time of 11.13 seconds.
Ricky Thornton finished fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.76 seconds, while
Kevin Smith finished second in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:56.70.
Joshua Coffelt recorded a top-five finish in the 5000-meter run, finishing fourth in a time of 15:48.17 – less than 20 seconds out of first.
Marcus Cade finished sixth overall in the high jump with a height of 1.91 meters, while winning the long jump competition with a distance of 7.30 meters.
Jacob Pearson finished seventh overall in the javelin for the Hornets with a throw of 21.60 meters to round out the competition.
Alabama State returns to action next weekend at the UCF Invitational, hosted by Central Florida in Orlando (Fla.).
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