Grace Nwokocha just completed a stellar freshman track season at North Carolina A&T. But the two-time All-American just made an even bigger contribution in her native land.
The Nigerian, product recently took a visit home and brought plenty of North Carolina A&T gear with her. Nwokocha gifted her gear to some young folks in Port Harcourt.
It’s been a whirlwind first half of the year for Nwokocha, who joined the program in January and immediately impacted it. She debuted by running a 7.36 in the 60 meters at Clemson University’s Tiger Paw Invite in February. Later, she finished third in the 60 and fourth in the 200 at the Big South indoor championships before becoming one of the nation’s best sprinters during the outdoor season.
Nwokocha won the 100m at the Drake Relays before winning Big South outdoor titles in the 100 and 200m. As a result, the Big South named her outstanding women’s athlete and freshman of the year.
Grace Nwokocha then won first-team All-American honors in the 100m and 200m, becoming the first A&T freshman to earn All-America accolades in both events in the same season. She is also the first A&T freshman to earn first-team honors in the 100m.
She established Big South records in both events during the NCAA semifinals, as she first ran a 10.97 in the 100m — the first sub-11.00 time in league history — followed by a 22.44 in the 200. Nwokocha qualified for NCAA nationals in Eugene with a third-place finish in the 100m (11.17) and fourth-place standing in the 200m (22.45) at the NCAA East preliminaries.
Nwochoka received three freshman of the week accolades this past year — two outdoor honors and one indoor.
And after that, she found some time to spread “Aggie Pride” across the Atlantic.