Aggies claim 13 wins at Aggie Classic

Paula Salmon, a grad-student hurdler won her heat with a time of 13.02 second. Photo by Joe Daniels/Carolina Peacemaker.

Rain caused some delays on the second day of the 2023 Aggie Classic hosted by North Carolina A&T men’s and women’s outdoor track and field programs at Marcus T. Johnson Track on Saturday. But A&T still managed to get things done. Both teams used competing at home to their advantage, with 13 total wins over the weekend, including 10 on Saturday.

The women’s team won seven times over the weekend, including Taylor Reagor’s win in the discus on Friday. The men tallied six wins, including the two from Friday in the discus (Carlos Alexander) and the long jump (Aeneas Reed Jr.)

Kenady Wilson, honored on Saturday as a part of the program’s Senior Day festivities, secured the day’s first win by winning the high jump. It was her second time competing in the high jump this season, but the leap of 5-feet, 8 ¾-inches holds the No. 1 rank in the Colonial Athletics Association (CAA).

The first win on the track came from middle-distance runner Fajr Kelly. Kelly completed the women’s 800m with a personal-best 2:08.85, moving her to the No. 3 spot in the conference.

Paula Salmon, also honored on Senior Day, took the gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Salmon and Lucheyona Weaver ran one and two in the 100H preliminaries, ending the finals similarly. Salmon crossed the finish line in 13.17, and Weaver secured second with a 13.75 time. With the win, Salmon earned her 17th career first-place finish.

Meanwhile, Julieth Nwosu won her second shot put event of the season. A month after winning at the University of South Carolina’s Weems Baskin Relays, Nwosu launched the sphere 48-feet, 9-inches on her first attempt. No one came within four feet of that mark throughout the competition.

The women also championed their relay events. Pebbles Scott, Salmon, Shaliciah Jones, and MyKayla Perry won the 4×100 event in 45.40. Scott and Perry later returned to the track for the 4×400, racing with Jada Griffin and Nia Frederick. The foursome took first place in 3:46.66.

The men’s team started their day with the hammer throw, where Qualiar Newton dominated the competition to earn his first career outdoor win. His personal-best throw of 172-feet, 6-inches beat the closest competitor by almost 30 feet. Newton has been steadily improving his hammer throw this season, and Saturday’s performance moved him into the No. 3 spot in the CAA.

Brayden Hodgest secured another victory for the Aggie men. His toss of 57-feet, ¾-inches is his new outdoor record, and it places him in the No. 2 spot for the conference – behind Alexander (58-feet, ¼-inch). Hodgest has two first-place finishes and one second-place finish in the shot put this season.

Another two wins for the men came from their relays. Ryan Saint-Germain, Reed, Malcolm Croom-McFadden, and Akeem Lindo championed the 4×100 in 45.40.

Saint-Germain later joined Shemar Chambers, Reheem Hayles, and Jayden Crosby for the last event of the day, winning the 4×400 in 3:15.05. Saint-Germain, Croom-McFadden and Lindo were also celebrated on Senior Day.

After a comfortable meet at home, the Aggies must gear up for the Penn Relays held this weekend, April 27-29, at the University of Pennsylvania. Regarded as the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, the Penn Relays will amass the best talent worldwide to Franklin Field in Philadelphia. A&T will make the trip to the historic event for the first time in 14 years.