AUSTIN, TEXAS –North Carolina A&T senior track and field sprinter Trevor Stewart came two-hundreds of a second from becoming a national champion on Friday.
Stewart and the University of Houston's Kahmari Montgomery staged an amazing final 100 meters of the men's 400 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Montgomery leaned forward at the end to outlast Stewart's outstanding effort. The times by both gentlemen were scorching. Montgomery crossed in 44.23 while Stewart finished with a personal-best 44.25 in a race that was in doubt to the very end.
North Carolina A&T's director of track and field programs Duane Ross was impressed by the performance of Montgomery and Stewart. They ran the second and third fastest times in the world this year respectively.
“I thought he ran great,” said Ross. “The young man from Houston ran a very smart race and ran off of Trevor till the end. I'm proud of the way he competed. We wanted the win, but this is track and field and sometimes second happens.”
The @ncaatrackandfield tweeted on Friday night that Stewart went from growing up with asthma into being a world-class track and field athlete.
“To be at an HBCU and to perform basically how I perform it's a big deal,” Stewart told the NCAA. “It's not just for me but it is also for the HBCU community as well. I love my HBCU because when I got there, I felt like I was home again.
I'm all the way from Virginia, I came down to North Carolina, and I feel like I'm already home. I feel like I can leave my home in Virginia and still find another place where I feel comfortable in.”
Stewart has another year of eligibility remaining at N.C. A&T, therefore, he has more opportunities to win national titles (indoor and outdoor). Stewart also competed in the 4x400 meter relay on Friday with freshman teammate Akeem Lindo and juniors Akeem Sirleaf and Kemarni Mighty.
The foursome finished in fifth place nationally with a time of 3:01.50. It was a season-best for the team as they blew away their previous best by almost four seconds.
In the Aggies other relay race, the 4x100, the Aggies also finished fifth. Seniors Michael Dickson and Rodney Rowe, freshman Malcolm Croom-McFadden and Sirleaf ran their race in 38.59 which was also a season-best.
Dickson also competed in the men's 110-meter hurdles where he finished sixth in 13.71.
It will be the ladies' turn on Saturday. The Aggies will have competitors in the 4x100 (6:32 p.m., EST), the 100 (7:22 p.m.) and the 200 (8:07 p.m.).
Senior Kayla White will compete in all three while freshman Cambrea Sturgis will go for gold in the 200 and 4x100. Both ladies will be a part of the 4x100 team along with junior Tori Ray and freshman Kamaya Debose-Epps.
