AGGIES WIN SIX MEAC OUTDOOR TITLES

Via wins MEAC triple jump and long jump for the second straight year

 Results
GREENSBORO, N.C., May 6, 2006 – For a senior like Brandon Via who has earned All-American honors in indoor track and field, he knows what it takes to win a conference championship. For a freshmen like Gordon Smith and Lonnie Phifer, trying to win a conference title with everyone and thing falling down around can be a nerve-racking experience.

 Via did what comes natural to him at the 2006 MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at N.C. A&T’s Irwin Belk Track this weekend. He won the triple and long jumps.

 Smith and Phifer did what they want to one day become natural to them. Smith won the 400 meter hurdles as he finished with a time of 51.67, and Phifer took the shot put. The other conference championships for the Aggies over the weekend included Courtney Clark claiming the 400 meter hurdles by breaking the school record for the second consecutive week.

 This week she broke the record by running a 51.67. Clark was also a part of the 4x400 relay team along with Carmenta Mitchell, Phykesha Blackmon and Alexandria Spruiel  that won the MEAC title with a time of 3:36.83. The Aggie men finished third with 95 points. The women finished tied for sixth with Howard.

 Smith, who said he struggled a bit in indoor trying to find his niche as a college competitor, began the outdoor season with a win in the 400 meter hurdles at the Aggie Team Challenge. Smith rode that momentum into the Penn Relays before scoring 24 points for the Aggies on Saturday with a third place finish as a part the 4x400 relay team, a second-place in the high jump and his 10 points for winning the 400 meter hurdles.

 “In my mind, I wanted to get out to a fast start,’’ said Smith. “I knew if I didn’t get out to a good start those would start gunning. I made up in my mind, I’m going to be gunning today.”

 Smith ran in an interesting race. In the second turn, Smith saw a runner go down to his left. When he turned the curve for the third leg of the race, another runner fell after colliding with a hurdle. The freshman out Rocky Mount, NC then became nervous.  

 “I’m thinking I might be next,’’ said Smith. “Anything can happen when you’re running in the hurdles. I’m glad no one was hurt, but when those guys went down it was definitely to my advantage.”

 Phifer, another first-time MEAC winner, had a throw of 51-feet, 6 ½ inches. Via’s conference titles were the seventh and eighth of his career (indoor and outdoor combined). Via won the triple with a leap of 51-feet, 8-inches. He took the long jump with a distance of 23-feet, 8 -½ inches.

 Clark took home her fifth and sixth MEAC titles, and she won the 400 meter hurdles for the fourth time this season. She scored an Aggie-high 25 points with a fourth-place finish in the 200 meters. Smith, Phifer and Cerone Burnett, who finished second behind Via in the triple jump, qualified for his first NCAA East Regional meet which will be held at Irwin Belk Track May 26-27.

 On the women’s, Caryle DeCruise and freshman sprinter Alexandria Spruiel also qualified for the East Regional. Lauren Taylor had a second-place finish in the 100 meter hurdles. She is also a regional qualifier.

 “I’m very excited about what happened this weekend,’’ said James Daniels, who coaches the Aggie sprinters and hurdlers. “When you have freshman qualifying for regionals, you can’t help but be excited.”

 The Aggies will compete and host their third meet of the season when the Last Chance Meet comes to Irwin Belk May 12-13.