VIA EARNS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS

Justin Byron, Lauren Taylor finish nationally ranked in indoor

 GREENSBORO, N.C., March 14, 2006 – Brandon Via finished seventh in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Men’s and Women’s Championship in Fayetteville, Ark.  Via’s top 10 finish earned him All-American honors. Via becomes the seventh track and field athlete at North Carolina A&T to earn All-American honors.  

 Via leaped 53-feet and ¼ of an inch at the NCAA Championship. He finished ranked fourth in the nation with a season-best leap of 53-feet, one-inch. Via joins Timothy Walls, Sean White, Everett Bruce, Titus Haywood, Gerald Wright and Theo Wilds as Aggie track and field All-Americans.

 Via has won two MEAC indoor triple jump titles, one long jump indoor title, one triple jump outdoor title and one long jump outdoor title in his career. He also qualified for nationals in the triple jump in outdoor track and field in 2005.

 Two other Aggie track and field athletes also finished ranked nationally in indoor this season. Justin Byron, who broke the school and MEAC 200 meter indoor record in at the MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in February, finished ranked 15^th in the nation with a season-best time of 21.10 in the 200. He finished 12^th nationally with a time of 21.23.

 On the women’s side, Lauren Taylor ranked among the top 50 in the 60 meter hurdles with a season-best time of 8.36, which ranked her 39^th. Taylor’s time occurred at the MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. It broke the school record in the event, which was previously set by Taylor’s teammate Caryle Decruise.