NORFOLK, Va. (February 19, 2023) – Howard University men's and women's track & field squads put on solid performances after Day One of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va.
 
HU women sit atop the standings after Day One, holding a slim lead over Morgan State, 21-19. The Bison men stand in second place, trailing Norfolk State, 31-18.
 
Sophomore Sean Wray (Stafford, Va.) headlined the day for HU, winning gold in the men's long jump. The Virginia product leaped just over 24 feet (7.33 meters) and won the tiebreaker over North Carolina Central's Jaelyn Blanc.
 
In the women's field events, freshman Ija Mumford (Winston-Salem, N.C.) earned bronze in the women's long jump, leaping nearly 19 feet (5.76 meters). Sophomore Jasmyn Hunter (Flossmoor, Ill.) also competed in the event, finishing fifth overall (5.60 meters; 18'4.5").
 
On the track, HU saw eight Bison advance to Tuesday's final round.
 
In the women's 200-meter dash prelims, six Bison qualified for the final round, led by All-American senior Jessica Wright (Durham, N.C.). The North Carolina native produced top automatic qualifying time of 24.05.
 
Fellow classmate De'ja Dade (DeSoto, Texas), junior Kaya-Rae Dunbar (Burtonsville, Md.), sophomore Tiffani-Rae Pittman (Bowie, Md.) and newcomer Kiya Lawson (Montclair, N.J.) also ran AQ times of 24.20, 24.26, 24.38 and 24.41, respectively.
 
Second-year Bison Lamaria Washington (Miami) rounded out the final round with a non AQ time of 24.48.
 
On the men's side, senior Jermanie Byrd (Miami Gardens, Fla.) clocked in at an automatic qualifying time of 21.60. Freshman Dylan Gaines (Houston) joins Byrd in the final round after producing a non AQ time of 21.61.
 
Tuesday's (Feb. 21) 200 meter-dash is scheduled for 2:40 p.m. (women) and 2:50 p.m. (men), respectively.
 
Senior Breanna McDonald (Bethesda, Md.) claimed silver in the women's 5K run, registering a 19:02.82 time. Sophomore Joslyn Crosby (Bossier City, La.) scored points for HU in the same event, thanks to a sixth-place finish (20:09.41).
 
Other notable performance on the track included Virginia native Ayoade Adebiyi (Virginia Beach) returning home where he took fourth in the men's 5K run (15:05.89).
 
Tuesday's action begins at 9 a.m., with the conclusion of the men's heptathlon. The women's pentathlon begins at 9:20 a.m., and running events begin at noon with the prelims of the women's 60-meter hurdles.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.