North Carolina Central University

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

     NEWPORT NEWS, VA - North Carolina Central University sophomore sprinter Maurice Gailey had a record-setting performance during the 2006 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships to help lead the Eagles to a second place finish on Sunday inside the Freeman Center on the campus on Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va.
     Gailey, a native of Pensacola, Fla., posted a facility record while winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.93 seconds. Fellow NCCU sophomore Brian Hope (Raleigh, N.C.) earned all-conference honors by placing third in the 200m dash with a time of 22.10 and placed second in the 60m dash with a time of 6.80.
     Gailey and Hope later teamed up with juniors Hakeem Mohammed (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Dorian Turner (Irmo, S.C.) to capture all-CIAA recognition with a second place finish in the 4x400m relay. The Eagles' time of 3:18.56 was just three one-hundredths of a second behind the winners. 
     NCCU newcomer Eric Smalls (Raleigh, N.C.) surprised the championship field by winning the conference title in the shot put with a throw of 14.09 meters.
     Other all-conference performers for the NCCU men were Mohammed in the 400m dash (2nd, 48.75); Rashaad Lee (Willingboro, N.J.) in the 800m run (3rd, 1:57.00); freshman Brandon Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) in the 5k run (3rd, 16:21.87); and the men's distance medley relay (2nd, 10:30.88), consisting of Jones, Turner, sophomore Robert Curington (Durham, N.C.) and Lee.
     As a team, the Eagles finished second with 93 points, trailing repeat winner Saint Augustine's with 209 points, and ahead of third place Bowie State with 44 points.
     The NCCU women won three conference titles to help place third in the team standings.
     Lady Eagle freshman Jessica Mills (Thorefare, N.J.) won the conference championship in the triple jump with a leap of 12.09 meters, while also claiming all-conference honors in the long jump with a third place effort of 5.40 meters.
     Another NCCU freshman Rejon Littlepage (Trenton, NJ) captured the league title in the mile run with a winning time of 5:48.69.
     The Lady Eagles' third conference championship was won by the distance medley relay team of junior Aisha Brown (Kodiak, Alaska), senior Sharonda Arnold (Fayetteville, N.C.), freshman Robin Thomas (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Yolanda Barber (Suitland, Md.), with a time of 12:42.87.
     A pair of freshmen earned all-CIAA merit in the shot put with Latasha Jones (New Bern, N.C.) placing second with a throw of 11.90 meters, followed by a third place toss of 11.15 meters by Chanel Raynor (Newport, N.C.).
     Arnold claimed all-conference honors in the 400m dash (3rd, 57.04), then participated in the 4x400m relay with freshman Tyfia Lee (Virgin Islands), freshman Ambria Alexander (Landover, Md.) and senior Christina Harris (Charlotte, N.C.) to place second with a time of 3:50.46.
     As a team, the Lady Eagles finished third with 83 point, just nine points behind second place Bowie State. Saint Augustine's won the women's CIAA crown again with 149 points.
     "All of the student-athletes did well," said NCCU head coach Michael Lawson. "We just ran out of depth in the field events. I am proud of their effort.
     "Maurice Gailey was impressive with a facility record, and Rejon Littlepage really pulled through for us as a freshman," Lawson added.