This past weekend Howard and North Carolina A&T’s track and field teams competed at the Penn Relay. Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Penn Relay is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States and HBCU track shined bright on one of Track and Field’s biggest stages.
For the College Women’s 100m Hurdles Championship, HBCU track was on display with the top two finishes coming from HBCU runners from Howard and North Carolina A&T.
HOWARD
Darci Khan, a transfer from the University of Kentucky, represented the Bison very well coming in first place and winning the College Women’s 100-meter hurdles championship. Khan clocked in at 13.18 in the event earning her the gold medal.
In a post-event interview, Khan said wanted to continue the winning streak for the Bison, put her HBCU on the map, and demonstrate the trust she has for her coach, family, and friends.
“Being a David Oliver is definitely a great time, it’s fun and we come out to the meets to do what we do in practice,” says Khan. “We can trust him because he’s done the a million times and won multiple gold medals.”
Junior Bison, Keya-Rae Dunbar also competed in the 100-meter hurdle. Dunbar finished in fifth place overall with a 13.76 finishing time.
Coming from Maryland, Dunbar joined Howard’s track and field team in 2020. In the 2021 outdoor season, Dunbar competed in seven meets. Within those seven meets the track star claimed first place at the Towson Invite for 100-meter hurdles, second place at the Aggie Classic for 100-meter hurdles and finished top 5 at the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 100-meter hurdles.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T
Graduate Aggie Paula Salmon claimed second place for North Carolina A&T, recording a 13.31 finishing time. For the qualifying round for the event, Salmon solidified the top spot with a 13.56 hurdle time.
Hailing from New York, Salmon clocked a 13.08 time at the Tom Jones Memorial. This number ranked her nationally at No. 15 in the 100-meter hurdles. Both Salmon and Darci Khan are tied at No. 11 in the nation’s top 20 in hurdles.
