ELON, N.C. - The Guilford College track and field team hit the ground running for their first outdoor meet of the season at the Phoenix Invitational, hosted by Elon University Friday morning. Despite fielding young Quakers, (with many athletes this year experiencing their first collegiate outdoor meet) the men's and women's track and field teams held their own and made an impact against tough competition from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III.
Bess Parnell (Cairo, Egypt) was the top Quaker finisher in the Women's 400m placing 18th with a time of 1:09.17, a PR besting her previous time of 1:09.46 at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Indoor Championships. As for her Long Jump score, Parnell jumped 4.29m.
Piper Campbell (Wilmington, N.C.) ran the Women's 1500m run for the first time in her outdoor collegiate career and finished 30th with a time of 6:04.12.
Aixa Arajuo-Cortinas took part in the Women's 800m with a time of 3:30.54
The men had an eventful day where they tested their speed in the 4x100m relay where they placed sixth. The team consisted of
Cedric Blowe (Indian Trail, N.C.),
Malik Hargrove (Warren County, N.C.),
Jerome Moore (Mount Olive, N.C.), and
Jadyn Swinson (LaGrange, N.C.) earned a time of 44.49. Every member of this relay team along with
Marcus Tate (Atlanta, Ga.) competed in the Men's 100m dash. Hargrove was the first Quaker to pass the finish line in 32nd place with a time of 11.60. Moore placed 40th and finished with 11.85 while Blowe was right behind them in 42nd with a time of 11.87. Swinson left with 12.16 in 47th place and Tate walked away in 52nd place with a time of 12.84.
Jeremy Harway (Apex, N.C.) was top 20 in the Men's 110m Hurdles in 14th place with a time of 19.66. The trio of Quakers that finished in the 200m dash included
Yassine Allam (Holly Springs, N.C.) with a PR of 24.03 in 38th place,
Kendel Lowe (Winston-Salem, N.C.) with a time of 24.68 in 46th place, and
Ahmaad Abdul-Haqq (Greensboro, N.C.) with a time of 25.05 in 48th place.
In the Men's 400m, Allam led the way for Guilford, securing 25th place with a PR time of 53.06. Lowe followed, finishing 30th at 54.90, while
Trenten Torain (Durham, N.C.) crossed the line in 32nd with a time of 57.33. Abdul-Haqq came in just behind, taking 33rd at 57.57. In the 800m,
Jeremy Harway placed 32nd, clocking in at 2:30.72, with
JC Yañez (Thomasville, N.C.) close behind in 33rd at 2:31.73.
Over in the field events,
Akeem Kaiuway (Greensboro, N.C.) and
Khmalai McPhaul (Fayetteville, N.C.) earned 13th and 15th place finishes in the Discus Throw with distances of 20.79m and 14.50m, respectively. In the Men's Javelin Throw,
Kayden Gaddist (Summerville, S.C.) threw 38.11m to place 15th. Meanwhile, Abdul-Haqq and Tate made marks in the Men's Long Jump—Abdul-Haqq landing in 10th place with a leap of 5.88m, and Tate finishing 17th with a jump of 5.27m. For the Men's Shot Put, Gaddist took 12th place with a throw of 8.89m, followed by McPhaul in 15th (6.04m) and Kaiuway in 16th (5.08m).
Next up for Guilford is the Livingstone Blue Bear Invitational, hosted by Livingstone College on Saturday, March 29th. Start time is TBA at the moment.
#GoQuakes
