If Randolph Ross Jr. has worn a North Carolina A&T uniform for the last time ever, he made sure to make it a memorable one.
The junior successfully defended his national title in the 400m dash on Friday, clocking in at 44.13 to hold off Champion Allison of Florida. His time was a season-best and a collegiate leading one for the Olympic gold medalist. He became the first man to repeat as champion in the event since 2010-2011.
Randolph Ross Jr. was the lone Aggie to win a national title on Friday. A&T finished tied for ninth overall along with Texas Tech in men’s competition after finishing third during the 2021 outdoor championships. Both scored 22 points. Florida won the competition with 54 points.
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The A&T men’s 4x100m relay squad finished eighth (39.95), as did its 4×400 relay team, which won the national title in 2021.
A&T sophomore Javonte Harding completed his season with a third-place finish in the 100m. He ran a personal-best 10.08.
This marked the final performance for the NC A&T men under head coach Duane Ross Sr. He will be taking over the track program at Tennessee following the NCAA Championships. Ross is expected to turn pro, but he could conceivably follow his father to Knoxville, TN. Either way, it appears unlikely he’ll be competing for A&T come next spring. Harding will likely have the same options. Neither student-athlete has commented on what they will do after the season at this point.
The North Carolina A&T women will get their chance to claim some hardware on Saturday in the finals, as will Howard University’s 4x400m squad and Jessica Wright in the 400m hurdles.
How HBCU men finished at NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship
Prairie View A&M was the only other HBCU to score. Sophomore long jumper Nathan Crawford-Wallis had a jump of 16.10 meters to finish eighth in the event and earn the Panthers one point.
1 Florida 54
2 Texas 38
3 Tennessee 34
4 Florida State 33
5 Georgia 32
6 LSU 31
7 Princeton 27
8 Stanford 24
9 N. Carolina A&T 22
9 Texas Tech 22
11 Alabama 21
12 USC 20
12 Washington 20
14 Virginia 18
15 Arizona State 17
16 Oklahoma 14
16 TCU 14
18 Baylor 13
18 California 13
68 North Carolina 1
South Alabama 1
Abilene Christian 1
Prairie View 1
Lipscomb 1