COLUMBIA, SC. ^__ Alabama A&M University's track and field teams competed in the two-day meet held on the campus of the University of South Carolina this past weekend.

Several Bulldog athletes continued to recorded new personal records at the 2020 Carolina Challenge, including Artrayvious Whelchel, a junior from Montgomery, Alabama who ran a time of 50.52 in the 400-meter dash and a time of 22.91 in the 200-meter dash.

"Execution and Aggression were two points of emphasis going into this past meet, and those two points were the reason for both PRs that I accomplished," Whelchel explained. "I felt good about my performance, yet I still have work to put in."

Freshman teammate Nicholas Powell, also a Montgomery native, recorded a personal best in the 400-meter dash as he finished with a time of 49.83.

"The last meet showed me progressions that I've never seen before, and finally seeing 49 seconds on the screen helped me 'trust the process' much more," Powell stated. "I was happy about my open 400 but I still know that I have more to give".

On the women side, a third Montgomery native, freshman Fabiona Jackson-Jenkins led the Lady Bulldogs with a personal best in both the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash. Jackson-Jenkins ran a time of 24.88 in the 200-meter dash landing her in the 19th position overall at the meet and a third place position within the conference standings.

When asked about her successes, she also harped on focus and her training as the reason. "I am proud that I was able to achieve a PR at this meet," she stated. "Overall I feel focus was the most important factor in order for this to happen. I believe continuing to focus and drive my way down the track will allow me to PR again in the future."

Comments from Coach Jones

• "We are buying into the vision of being a competitive team and I am loving each step that we are making in accomplishing all of our goals both individually and as a team," Jones explained about her this season. "True athletes step up at meets that they deem are bigger meets in their eyes. I am extremely proud of all the personal records that we set this past weekend on both the men and women side. I look forward to the remainder of the season to see what else we can have accomplished. A task was given to the athletes prior to the meet and they accepted the challenge."

Additional Personal Best from the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs

• Men Long Jump - Brandon McLaren - 6.99m, 22'11.25
• Men Shot Put - Demetrius Hurry II - 12.88m, 43'2.25
• Women Pole Vault - Danice Loney - 3.55m, 11'7.75
• Women 200 Meter - Akia Slaughter - 24.84
• Women 200 Meter - Terion Davis - 25.72
• Women 200 Meter - Jordyn Hankins - 25.84
• Women 200 Meter - Autumn Locklin - 26.26
• Women 800 Meter - Jaziah Ochoa - 2:2253

Up Next
The Bulldog Track & Field teams will return to Columbia this weekend for the South Carolina Invite, their final event before the Southwestern Athletic Conference Indoor Championships scheduled for Feb. 13-14 in Birmingham, Ala. held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

For more information on the Bulldog track and field teams, follow the Bulldogs on Instagram (@aamutrack). For more on all Bulldogs sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of AAMU Athletics on Twitter (@AAMUBulldogs), Facebook (Facebook.com/aamubulldogs) and Instagram (@AAMUathletics).