Albany State men and women place in top 3 at SIAC Track and Field Championship

ALBANY — Next year should be Albany State’s year in track and field, according to head coach Kenneth Taylor.

With everything the Rams dealt with this season, Taylor said that is not a half-hearted promise.

“They’re hungry. They know what it feels like to see that team up on the stand and they’re out there watching going, ‘Wait until next year.’ And it’s a genuine ‘wait ‘til next year’ that I’m hearing from them.”

Amidst a few untimely injuries and some disappointing finishes, the women’s team finished second in the SIAC Track and Field Championships on Sunday at Hugh Mills Stadium, while the men placed third.

Morehouse was crowned the men’s champ with 187 points, followed by Benedict with 171.5 and ASU with 164.

Benedict’s women took home the championship with 219 points, with ASU next with 144 and Clark Atlanta in third with 117.5.

“I thought (Sunday) went about as well as could be expected,” Taylor said. “We had some ups and downs, we had some good performances and some not so good performances, but I’m glad we were able to pull out the finish that we did both for men and women.”

Cervantes Jackson suffered an injury Saturday and was unable to participate Sunday, which hurt the men’s team in terms of points. Also, the men’s 4×400 relay team was disqualified because of an improper handoff.

The men still saw a number of strong finishes Sunday, including Joshua Ajero placing first in the 800 and 1,500 and Chris Jackson bringing home gold in the 100.

For the women, Dykearah Jones took first in the pole vault and second in the 100, Channelle Wong placed second in the 1,500 and 5,000, and Ciera Norman placed third in the pole vault to give the Rams a boost.

“I’m really proud of this group. They worked hard, it’s been a good long season for them and like I said, we did the best we could with what we had,” Taylor said.

The weather held up just enough to squeeze the day’s events in. As far as an overall experience, ASU was able to host the conference meet without a hitch for the second consecutive year.

ASU athletics director Sherie Gordon credits the city for working with the school as they put the event together and the hard-working staff that did the labor to make sure everything was top rate.

“I think the, one, the weather cooperating, two, we had the incredible support of our volunteers,” Gordon said. “Anytime you have volunteers, it makes the event run very efficient.

“Third, I have to give the conference credit. They brought in one of the top meet directors in the nation in coach Charles Oliver, and he and his officials did an incredible job this year.”