Howard track leads MEAC in NCAA East Regional Qualifiers

Courtesy of Howard Athletics

INDIANAPOLIS (May 19, 2023) — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) unveiled its Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships First Round Preliminaries where Howard University led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with more than a dozen Bison. The announcement came Thursday afternoon.

Overall, HU saw 16 Bison on the qualifier list, including 11 student-athletes competing individually. Furthermore, The Mecca is the only institution in the league with a relay squad making the cut (men’s 4×100 and women’s 4×400).

Below are the following student-athletes representing HU in Jacksonville (alphabetical order by last name):

Dylan Beard — Graduate (Baltimore)
- 110-meter hurdles
  - 13.29
  - 2^nd in the nation
Jermanie Byrd — Senior (Miami Gardens, Fla.)
- 110-meter hurdles
  - 13.69
  - 23^rd in the region
  - 24^th in the country
Kameron Davis — Senior (Miami)
- 110-meter hurdles
  - 13.81
  - 30^th in the region
  - 34^th in the nation
Ashton Daniel — Senior (Athens, Ga.)
- 200-meter dash
  - 20.71
  - 38^th in the region
  - 43^rd in the country
Chase Drewery — Sophomore (Waldorf, Md.)
- Triple Jump
  - 15.43 meters
  - 30^th in the region
  - 32^nd in the country
Kaya-Rae Dunbar — Junior (Burtonsville, Md.)
- 100-meter hurdles
  - 13.40
  - 36^th in the region
  - 38^th in the country
Zachary Hawkins — Junior (Lithonia, Ga.)
- 110-meter hurdles
  - 13.92
  - 45^th in the region
  - 49^th in the country
Darci Khan — Junior (Stockbridge, Ga.)
- 100-meter hurdles
  - 12.96
  - 9^th in the nation
Tiffani-Rae Pittman — Sophomore (Bowie, Md.)
- 100-meter dash
  - 11.45
  - T-44^th in the region
- 200-meter dash
  - 23.29
  - 43^rd in the region
Aniya Woodruff — Freshman (Harrisburn, N.C.)
- 400-meter hurdles
  - 58.37
  - 32^nd in the region
  - 36^th in the nation
Jessica Wright — Senior (Durham, N.C.)
- 400-meter hurdles
  - 55.81
  - 4^th in the nation
Men’s 4×100 Relay Squad
- 40.00 — Ja’Leak Perry (Senior; Atlanta), Daniel, Beard & Dylan Gaines (Freshman; Houston)
- 24^th in the region
- 43^rd in the nation
  - Alternates — Goba Dan-Princewill (Senior; Houston), Byrd & Hawkins
Women’s 4×00 Relay Squad
- 3:31.24 — Wright, Woodruff, Pittman & Kiya Lawson (Freshman; Montclair, N.J.)
- 9^th in the region
- 12^th in the country
  - Alternates — Cathrina Morris (Graduate; Auburndale, Fla.) & Dunbar

The first-round competitions are scheduled for May 24-27. The University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.) will host the East First Round and California State University, Sacramento and the Sacramento Sports Commission (Sacramento, Calif.) will host the West First Round.

The qualifiers out of these two regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships, held June 7-10 in Austin, Texas.