North Carolina Central University

OUTDOOR TRACK

     In his final performance as an amateur, North Carolina Central University senior sprinter Jason Smoots will attempt to win his third consecutive outdoor track national championship this weekend as one of six NCCU qualifiers for the 2003 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Illinois on May 22-24.
     Smoots, a native of Gadsden, Alabama, has won six national titles during his remarkable NCCU career, including three indoor (2001 55m, 2002 60m, 2003 60m) and three outdoor (2001 100m, 2002 100m, 2002 4x100m relay). If he is successful at defending his national championship in the 100m dash, Smoots will become the first to three-peat the event since Norm McGee of North Dakota from 1987-89.
     Smoots and McGee are already linked in NCAA Division II track history, as the two share the record for the most combined (indoor 55m/60m and outdoor 100m/200m) men's individual sprint national titles with five each. Smoots will have two chances to surpass McGee this weekend as a qualifier in the 100m and 200m dashes.
     Smoots is also slated to run the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay, as NCCU enters the event as the defending national champion. The senior sprinter will be accompanied by last year's relay teammates Steven Enoch and Detric Branch, and newcomer Brian Hope. All three will be performing in multi-events.
     Enoch, a three-time All-American sophomore out of Burlington, NC, will look to match or better last year's second place effort in the long jump. Branch, a sophomore from Garner, NC, will run in the 100m and 200m dashes. And Hope, a freshman hailing from Raleigh, NC, will compete in the 200m dash.
     Sophomore Chanda Powell, a three-time All-American from Durham, NC, has qualified in both the 100m hurdles and the long jump. Last year she earned her first All-America citation by placing seventh in the long jump. Entering this year's event, she is ranked fifth in the long jump (19' 9.5") and eighth in the 100m hurdles (14.11).
     Senior Kennisha Moten, a five-time All-American out of Fayetteville, NC, will be competing in her eighth and final NCAA track & field championship as a qualifier in the 400m dash. Last year, Moten captured her highest individual NCAA finish with a fifth place effort in the 400m dash. 

Kennisha Moten, a senior out of Fayetteville, NC, is a five-time All-American, including three individual honors in the 400-meter dash (2002 outdoor, 2002 indoor, 2001 outdoor) and two as a member of the 4x400m relay (2002 indoor, 2001 indoor). Her best finish at an NCAA event came during last year's outdoor national championships, placing fifth in the 400m dash with a time of 55.58. This will be Moten's eighth and final trip to the NCAA Championships.

Chanda Powell, a sophomore from Durham, NC, is a three-time All-American. During the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships she placed third in the 60m hurdles (8.70) and sixth in the long jump (18' 10.75"). She earned her first All-American citation during the 2002 outdoor championships, finishing seventh in the long jump (19' 9.75"). She also competed in the 100m hurdles, but did not advance to the finals.

Steven Enoch, a sophomore out of Burlington, NC, is a three-time All-American and member of the reigning National Champion 4x100m relay squad. During the 2002 outdoor championships, Enoch placed second in the long jump (25' 8.25") and ran an explosive third leg of the 4x100m relay to help the Eagles win their first relay national title since 1970. He placed sixth in the triple jump (49' 9") at the 2002 indoor championships.

Detric Branch, a sophomore from Garner, NC, was a member of NCCU's 4x100m relay squad that captured the 2002 NCAA Outdoor National Championship. He is slated to run the second leg during the quest for a repeat, while also competing for the first time as an individual on the national stage in both the 100m and 200m dashes.

Brian Hope, a freshman out of Raleigh, NC, will be making his first appearance at an NCAA Championship event. During the 2003 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Hope earned all-conference honors in the 100m and 200m dashes and ran the anchor leg of the CIAA Champion 4x400m relay squad.

Jason Smoots (Complete Bio CLICK HERE)

Name the Triangle school with the most NCAA Division I men's outdoor track & field individual national championships to its credit?

If you guessed North Carolina, you are wrong. NC State ... nope. Duke ... nah.
The correct answer is North Carolina Central University.
That's right, NCCU has five Division I outdoor track individual titles on its resume. And that's not counting the additional 14 individual outdoor track titles Eagles have won as a Division II member.

Here's the breakdown (as of May 20, 2003)
5 - North Carolina Central
4 - North Carolina
2 - North Carolina State
1 - Duke