On the women’s side, the Lady Rattlers began the defense of
their two consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Outdoor Track
& Field Championships with a solid performance. With a well-rounded squad,
Head Coach Darlene Moore, now director of track and field for both teams, has
put together what is sure to be a solid unit, vying for a three-peat
“The young ladies have been working hard and looking forward
to outdoor season. We didn’t quite
finish where we wanted at the MEAC Indoor Championship, but I think that has
inspired them all to train harder and do better. We were all ready to perform at home, in
front of our crowd at the FAMU Relays,” Moore said
In the 800m run, junior middle distance runner Destiny
Johnson topped the field with a 2:18.03 performance. Briana Ballatt finished fifth with a run of
2:31.34. April Polite and Erica Tyler
finished in sixth and ninth places respectively, with 2:35.28 and 2:48.33
finishes.
The FAMU distance runners again flexed their dominance with
six of the top seven runners wearing orange and green in the 10K run. Judith Kibii took the race, posting the first
place time of 37:16.37. Florida State’s
Bella Poole (38:05.61), took second place, but FAMU runners finished
consecutively in the next five
spots. Friday Limo (38:18.97), led the
bunch; followed by Emma Kiplagat
(38:45.73), Naomi Tanui (39:04.00), Caroline Kiplagat (39:29.48) and Nicole
Kvitkauskas (40:49.57).
In the 100m hurdles, freshman Alahni Wood took second place
with a time of 14.17. Tiara Corbett
would take seventh place in 16.16
Destiny Johnson earned second place in the 400m hurdles,
carding a 1:04.52 time
The Lady Rattler 4x100m relay team did not disappoint. After a solid start from Wood, Ashley Ivey would extend the Lady
Rattler lead into the third leg. From
there, with good handoffs, FAMU cruised to a win in 46.98.
The Lady Rattler relay teams would again prove their worth,
topping the 4x400m relay in 3:54.55.
Ivana Ford, a FAMU freshman, won the high jump with a leap
of 4’09.75” (4-09.75).
Cheyenne Brooks would go on to win the pole vault at 3-.05m
(20’0), while teammate DiCaria Alvarez placed second with a vault of 2.74m.
Ivey would take the triple jump’s top honors, with a 11.96m
(39-03.00). Corbett placed fourth with a
11.21m (36’09.50”) performance. Wood,
Ford and Corbett finished second, sixth and ninth in the process
FAMU’s throwers, under the tutelage of new Assistant Coach
Ben Wolf, performed to expectations at the meet. Andrea Aaron took first place in the women’s
hammer throw with a toss of 52.75. Aaron
currently holds the FAMU record in the hammer throw, earned at the 2017 MEAC
Indoor Track & Field Championship.
Alexandria Marshall-Paul finished second (45.45m) and Shontielle Johnson
took fourth (41.62m). Marshall-Paul
would take second place in the discus throw with a toss of 44.82m. Aaron took third in 43.18 and Benisha Johnson
took fifth with a toss 36.39m.
Aaron also took first place in the javelin throw with a toss
of 40.37m, followed by Marshall-Paul with a 35.06m toss.
On the men’s side, Moore is in a different stage. While the women are competing for
championships at every level, the men’s team is in the first stage of being
re-tooled by Moore.
“I saw some performances from the men’s team that were
encouraging. We’ve basically had to
build this team from the ground up. My
goal is to have both of these teams in the position to be threats to win the
cross country championship, the indoor championship and the outdoor championship. That’s the FAMU way. Great coaches like Coach Griffin, Coach Lang
and Coach Robinson all won championship on a consistent basis. When I took this job, I knew that is what was
expected of me. Now, I accepted the challenge
to bring the men’s team alongside the women’s and it will take work. But, me and my very capable coaching staff
are up for the challenge,” Moore said.
Jamari Smith took first place in the 400m run with a solid
48.50 lap. Timothy Ashley finished
seventh with a 50.33 time. Ashley would
take top honors in the 200m, carding a 22.04, with Smith placing third in
22.14.
Distance runner Thomas Howell took third place int he 5K
run, finishing in 17:50.17.
As a team, the Rattler 4x400m relay team took top honors
with a 3:20.37 finish. The team of Najee
Boyer, Smith, Karus Hunter and Ashley had solid handoffs and held off the
charging Nova Southeastern Sharks for the win.
Michael Poole took first place in the collegiate division of
the long jump. His leap of 6.51m edged
out teammate Herendre’ Fair, who came in at 6.35m.
Aaron Hanna would lead FAMU’s throwers. He placed first int he shot put (14.80m),
second in the discus throw (40.24m) and first in the hammer throw
(42.04M). Korteece Baker finished fifth
in the shot put (11.12m) and third in the discus throw (39.44m).