After a slow start this weekend, Saint Augustine’s University regrouped on Saturday to capture the men’s third-place trophy at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville, Texas.
The Falcons scored 38 points on the final day to claim third place. The finish was impressive considering the Falcons were ranked 12th in the NCAA DII men’s national rankings heading into the three-day meet, which was held on the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus.
Ashland University won the men’s team title with 54 points followed by Angelo State University with 53 points. Grand Valley State University was fourth with 35 points.
SAU moved into third place on the final event of the evening. The Falcons outdueled Ashland to win the men’s 4×400 relay in a down-to-the-wire race. Brandon Parris (Sr./Sion Hill, St. Vincent) pulled away from Myles Pringle of Ashland near the finish line for the title, their third in four years and 24th in 33 years. Parris anchored the 4×400 unit, which included Darren Alfred (Fr./Bethel, Trinidad & Tobago), Shaquille Dill (Sr./Pembroke, Bermuda) and Jalen Jones (Fr./Raeford, NC).
The trio of Parris, Dill and Alazae Hester-Taylor (Jr./Homewood, AL), led the Falcons on Saturday. They combined to score 25 of the Falcons’ 38 points.
In addition to the 4×400 victory, Parris placed second in the 400 dash finals, running a season-best time of 46.08 seconds. Hester-Taylor, seeded 19th, was third in the 400 hurdles finals in a career-best time of 52.14, and Dill finished third in the 800 run finals in 1:50.64.
In the women’s division, the Lady Falcons were hampered by an injury to track standout Shannon Kalawan (Jr./Westmoreland, Jamaica) in the 4×100 relay. The injury prevented Kalawan from defending her national titles in the 400 dash and 400 hurdles. It also stopped her from helping the Lady Falcons defend their 4×400 national crown.
As a result, the Lady Falcons scored 10 points. Amanda Crawford (Jr./Brooklyn, NY) placed fifth in the 200 dash finals, and she helped the 4×400 relay squad finish third. The relay team included Jaria Hoyte (Fr./St. Phillip, Barbados), Danielle Scantlebury (Fr./St. George, Barbados) and Davia Smith (Sr./Manchester, Jamaica).
Lincoln (Mo.) University won the women’s national title with 64 points. Adams State University was runner-up with 54 points and Grand Valley State University was third with 47.5 points. West Texas A&M University finished fourth with 47 points.
Overall, the Falcons and Lady Falcons earned All-American honors in nine events on Saturday. The list includes the student-athletes already mentioned in addition to Christian Smith (Jr./Atlanta GA), who was seventh in the men’s 110 hurdles finals, and Najair Jackson, (So./Spanish Town, Jamaica) who placed eighth in the men’s javelin throw. Smith was a late addition to the national qualifying list.
The men’s 4×100 relay team of Nathan Fergusson (Fr./St. Thomas, Barbados), Parris, Damere Gilbert (Jr./Sharon Hill, PA) and Alfred finished fourth.
The top eight individual finishers and relay teams in their respective events received All-America trophies at the meet.
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