Florida A&M’s track teams stand prepared for the outdoor season. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference MEAC indoor championship provided a measuring stick for the team’s progress.
First year men’s head coach Wayne Angel was extremely happy about the opportunities the weekend’s meet brought for his team. “Although we didn’t come out and win, we are not going to hang our heads because we know that we competed and gave it our all,” Angel said.
Senior Leon Hunt said the team was a little too loose for the event. “We were too relaxed and that hurt us somewhat,” Hunt said. “We will know what to expect the next time we are in this situation.”
Hunt, a long jumper from St. Croix, has already jumped further than 25 feet in a meet last month. The jump landed Hunt in the NCAA’s national top 15 rankings at No. 11. Hunt continued his recent surge in the long jump. He claimed first place with a final jump of 7.69 meters.
Carrol earned a fifth place finish, posting a time of 8.11 in the 60-meter hurdles.
“Leon, Demarius, and Shuaib Winters have continued to get better and their leadership will help the rest of the guys,” Angel said.
Winters competed and earned third, fourth and sixth place finishes in the 5K run, 3K run and mile run, respectively.
“I really wanted to win, but the competitors really showed up in the races. It became more of a mental thing at the end of the race,” Winters said.
The women improved on last year’s performance, finishing 7 out of 11 teams.
“It was a tremendous performance by the young ladies,” head coach Darlene Moore said. The team scored in 10 of the 16 events at the competition, after not scoring a point in last season’s championship.
Six of the Lady Rattlers – Jasmine Pleasant, Rateema Stanley, Latoya Wright, Ariel Allen, Nichola Listhrop and Clarricia Golden – had top 10 finishes.
Moore also praised the efforts of her relay teams. Both the 4X400 meter and distance medley relay finished fifth. “My relay teams were outstanding,” Moore said. “They made me proud and will only improve the rest of the way.”