AUBURN, Ala. – The Alabama A&M men's and women's track and field programs competed in their first outdoor meet of 2023 on Saturday as part of the Tiger Track Classic, hosted by Auburn at the Hutsell-Rosen Track Complex.
 
Several Bulldogs made saw their first collegiate outdoor action on Saturday, including freshmen Joshua Graham, Lance Powell, Kody Pugh, and Shakiera Woods, who all turned in top five finishes on the day. Junior Aneisha Ingram also earned a top five finish in the meet, finishing third in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:53.45.
 
On the women's side, four runners finished in the top 25 of the 100-meter dash, led by sophomore Victoya Smith with a time of 11.89, good for 10th, followed by freshman Laila Gaynor at 12.11 at 15th, and seniors Onneika Rolle (12.55s) and Olivia Andrews (12.59s) good for 23rd and 25th respectively.
 
Going up in distance, Kendyl Hawkins finished 17th in the 400-meter event with a time of 1:01.52, while two Bulldog sophomores finished in the top 20 in the 800, with a tenth-place finish for De'Ajene Johnson (2:27.69) and 18th for Hawkins (2:32.96).
 
In the hurdles, Woods recorded her top five finish, landing fifth in the 100-meter event at 14.61, while Ajanae Cressey was not far behind at 11th with a time of 15.19.
 
A&M also had strong performances in the field events, as freshman Amber Jamison registered seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 11.16 meters, followed just behind by junior Alliyah Jones who landed at eighth at 11.06 meters. Meanwhile, Briana Cox (10.86 meters) and Zaria Akings (9.31 meters) finished 12th and 16th in the shot put, along with an 11th place finish from Leah Brown (32.40 meters) in the discus throw.
 
On the men's side, three different sprinters finished in the top 20 of the 100-meter dash, led by freshman Talil Atkins at 12 with a time of 10.87, followed by Shawn Guerrier and Keyshawn Johnson at 18 and 19 with times of 11.07 and 11.15 seconds respectively.
 
A pair of runners earned top ten finishes in the 400-meter, led by a fourth place ending for Pugh with a time of 49.19, followed by senior Kyle Graham in ninth at 50.63 seconds.
 
Freshmen Joshua Graham and Lance Powell both landed in the top five in the triple jump ranks at 14.47 and 14.14 meters respectively, good for fourth and fifth, while Ezekiel Salama landed at 13 in the shot put in his outdoor debut with a distance of 41.16 meters.

A&M's next track and field meet will come on Friday, March 24 with the Ole Miss Classic held at the Ole Miss Track & Field Complex.

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