Alabama State wins ninth straight SWAC women’s track & field title

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas | Alabama State walked away with their ninth consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) women’s championship, and finished second on the men’s side at the outdoor championships held on the Prairie View A&M campus this weekend.

Alabama State won their first championship at Prairie View A&M, winning the cross country championship back in 2000 and the win this weekend marked the 30th title for Alabama State head coach Ritchie Beene as the head coach of the program, and the 41st overall on the coaching staff.

“It was a hard fought three days,” Benne said. “I am extremely proud of both teams as they fought through the weekend, and the women were able to dominate the event and come out with a win. The men came up just a little bit short, but I am proud of them for the way they battled. I would like to thank my coaching staff, they did an amazing job preparing our student-athletes for the championships.”

Alabama State claimed six individual titles on their way to 218 points, winning the championship by 62 points over second place Prairie View A&M. UAPB and Grambling State each tied for third place.

Xiquaria Reliford won an individual title in the discus with a throw of 44.60 meters (146-04.00), while the 4×100-meter relay team finished with a time of 45.02 seconds to claim gold in the event. Arion Span claimed gold in the 800-meters in a time of 2:09.56, while Shamaria Lovett added to her collection of gold by winning the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 58.02 seconds.

Charminiqu Hackney was crowned the fastest woman in the SWAC, winning the 100-meter dash in a time 11.24 seconds. She broke the championship record that was set back in 1986 in a time of 11.25 seconds. She also won gold in the 200-meters in a time of 23.30 seconds.

The Lady Hornets had three student-athletes finish second in their events, and several others finish in the top five to help the team win the overall team championship.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Andrew Jackson and Josh Davis each claimed individual championships. Jackson won the 800-meter championship in a time of 1:55.92, while Davis won gold in the 200-meters with a time of 20.70 seconds. He narrowly missed gold in the 100-meters as he finished 0.02 seconds behind a pair of runners who crossed simultaneously.

Several other student-athletes finished in the top five to help Alabama State finish second in the meet with 161 points, one point ahead of Jackson State and six behind Prairie View A&M. The meet went down to the final event, the 4×400-meter relay, with the Hornets finishing behind Prairie View A&M.

Several student-athletes will now begin preparations for the NCAA East Regional in Tampa, with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Champoinships.

Courtesy: ASU Athletics