Spruiel breaks school record in 400

Results
GREENSOBORO, May 5, 2007 – Sophomore Alexandria Spruiel came to North Carolina A&T as a part of a big youth movement to rebuild the women’s track and field program after some lackluster seasons.

Sophomore Loreal Smith joined Spruiel in the youth movement when she redshirted the season before Spruiel arrived to N.C. A&T. Therefore, the duo started competing on the track at the same time.

The Aggie women featured 10 freshmen last season, but now the youth movement seems to be paying off. Spruiel and Smith walked away with two gold medals apiece on Saturday at the MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Morgan State.

Spruiel won the 400 meters in school-record time and was a part of the 4x400 relay team that won gold on Saturday. Spruiel ran the 400 in 53.05 seconds on Saturday. Smith took home gold in the 400 meter hurdles and joined Spruiel at the award stand as a part of the 4x400 relay team.

The Aggie women finished third as a team, scoring better than 100 points for the first time in 10 MEAC Outdoor Championships. Joining Smith and Spruiel on the 4x400 relay team that finished with first-place time of 3:39.50 was sophomores Jennifer Jackson and Christina Gray (anchor leg).

The foursome took second in the 4x100 relay with a time of 45.34. Jackson also scored for the Aggies in the 100 (fourth place for five points) and the 200 (fifth place for four points).

“They’re individual awards are the indication all the hard teamwork they have put together throughout the year,’’ said assistant track and field coach James Daniels, who coaches the sprinters and the hurdlers. Alexandria’s time in the 400 could be her in the top 10 in the regional, which is an indication of how far our program has come.”

The Aggies took home six titles on the women’s side throughout the championships, while the men took home one title. Freshman Kimona Smith took home gold in the long jump on Friday. Freshman Jerrine Foster won her first title with a throw of 141-feet, 6-inches in the discus. Junior Ron Buchanan was the lone winner on the men’s side with a win in the triple jump, marking the third straight season an Aggie has won that event. The men placed seventh as a team.

“Our men have endured some hardship this season,’’ said director of track programs Roy Thompson. “There were some athletes we were depending on the season that weren’t able to compete. But that doesn’t take away from the hard work these young men have put in this season.”

The other top scorers for the Aggie men included freshman Calesio Newman. Newman finished second in the 100 for eight points and sixth in the 200 for three points. Lonnie Phifer placed third in the shot put and had a fourth-place finish in the discus on Friday. Robert Martin had a fourth-place finish in the 100 and 200.

The Aggies have a scheduled warm-up meet at Georgia Tech next weekend before competing in the NCAA East Regional at the University of Florida.