GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 19) — The University of Mount Olive track & field team put on an impressive display at the Aggie Invitational hosted by North Carolina A&T, notching six NCAA provisional marks and delivering a series of record-breaking performances just one week before the Conference Carolinas Championships.
Bryant Leads the Charge
Freshman phenom Janara Bryant continued her remarkable rookie campaign with a historic showing. In the triple jump, Bryant soared to 12.85 meters, shattering both the UMO and Conference Carolinas records, and securing the second-best mark in NCAA Division II. Her leap also qualifies her for the USATF U20 Championships.
She followed that up in the long jump, placing third overall with a jump of 6.03 meters, another school record-setting performance for the rising star.
Sprints Deliver Big Results
The Trojans made noise in the 100 meters, with multiple athletes hitting NCAA qualifying times:
- Futoria Harris (Freshman) ran a blistering 11.63 seconds, earning a provisional mark and USATF U20 qualification, while also becoming the third-fastest woman in UMO history.
- Jason Hart (Junior) clocked 10.43 seconds, the third-fastest in UMO history and tied for second in the conference this season.
- Jamavie Glover (Junior) crossed in 10.47 seconds, marking his second NCAA provisional time of the outdoor season.
- Leland Smith (Freshman) posted a strong 10.62 seconds, the eighth-best time ever at Mount Olive.
In the men’s 4×100 relay, the team of Jacoby Pevia, Hart, Zyshone White, and Glover recorded a season-best time of 40.94 seconds, good for second in the conference standings.
Dominance in the Field
In the hammer throw, graduate student Dominic Nutter took first place with a throw of 58.98 meters, hitting the NCAA provisional mark. Teammate Matthew Heywood (Sophomore) added a sixth-place finish at 48.42 meters.
MacKenna Gallon (Sophomore) turned in a season-best performance in the javelin, throwing 32.88 meters for fifth place. In the discus, Kenisha Barnes (Junior) threw a season-best 41.48 meters, which now ranks fifth all-time at UMO.
Haniyyah Johnson (Junior) delivered a solid toss of 11.89 meters in the shot put, reaching the conference championship qualifying standard and ranking fourth in the league.
Additional standout field performances came from Karla Hormazabal (Senior) in the long jump (5.40m, season-best) and Wonderful Fadipe (Freshman) in the triple jump (13.88m, season-best).
Hurdles Highlights
In hurdle events, Channie Jefferson (Junior) met the league standard in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:05.25, and freshman Zaria Washington clocked 16.18 seconds in the 100m hurdles, also qualifying for the conference meet.
Next Stop: Myrtle Beach
With momentum building, the Trojans now turn their attention to the Conference Carolinas Championships, set for April 24–26 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where they’ll look to carry this strong form into a title push.
