Smith wins two more races   

GREENSBORO, April 18, 2009 – As North Carolina A&T’s director of track and field programs Roy Thompson showed Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference officials around N.C. A&T’s Irwin Belk Track on Saturday, he did so with a smile.

As pleased as Thompson is to have the conference championships in Greensboro this season, his smile stemmed more from the subject turning to his 4x400 meter relay teams than who his guests were. With the MEAC Championships two weeks away, the way his two relay teams ran on Saturday at the third annual International Friendship and Freedom Games, has Thompson confident the N.C. A&T outdoor track and field teams can look mighty impressive in front of their home fans April 30-May 2.

Thompson’s experienced 4x400 women’s meter relay team of seniors Loreal Smith, Alexandria Spruiel, Carmenta Mitchell and Christina Gray ran a 3:40.52 to win the IFFG event on Saturday. The time is not only the best time in the conference this season, it also qualified the foursome for the NCAA East Regionals, which will also be held at Irwin Belk Track. Meanwhile, the youthful 4x400 men’s relay team also ran well on Saturday. Sophomore Akinwole Jordan, freshmen D-Mitri Bouttry and Jarrell Elliott and junior Gordon Smith finished with a time of 3:10.05 to place first. That time is just five-tenths of a second shy of the qualifying mark for the East Regionals. 

“We thought both teams would finish a couple of seconds slower today,’’ said Thompson. “But we had people running their personal-best splits and that really made the difference. We were very encouraged with how well we ran in both relays. They’re going to have a lot of confidence going forward.”

As if she needed anymore confidence, Spruiel also had an impressive showing in the women’s 400 meters. Spruiel’s time of 53.23 secured her second win in the event in as many weeks. The 53.23 time is the fastest in the MEAC this season.

Another Aggie beaming with confidence is Gordon Smith. He had another stellar day as he complemented his 4x400 meter relay win with a first-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles. Smith, who is already regional qualifier in the event, ran a 53.50 on Saturday.

Jerrine Foster, a regional qualifier in the shot put, is also looking to do the same in the discus. Although she finished first in the discus on Saturday with a throw of 153-feet, 9-inches, she is still approximately a foot-and-half shy of the standard. Sophomore Amanda Breeden also provoked some confidence in the Aggies coaching staff.

The Winston-Salem native finished first in the long jump with a leap of 19-feet, 7-inches, making her less than an inch short of the qualifying mark.