LANDOVER, Md. (January 20, 2024) – Howard University women's track & field team cruised to victory in the 2024 Robert Comstock Cardinal Classic, hosted by Catholic University.
 
HU tallied 176.5 points, including eight first-place finishes. Catholic finished in a distant second with 59 points.
 
The 4x400 relay squad of graduate Simone Watkins (Frisco, Texas), sophomores Lauren Thompson (Frisco, Texas) and Zoe Turner (Mableton, Ga.) and rookie Kennedy Ross (Chicago) highlighted the afternoon with a victory, clocking in at 3:54.18.
 
Individually, Watkins won the 200-meter dash with a 24.85 mark while second-year Bison Aniya Woodruff (Harrisburn, N.C.) and Turner claimed second (25.09) and third (25.75), respectively.
 
Thompson took bronze in the short hurdles (60-meter) behind teammates junior Jasmyn Hunter (Flossmoor, Ill.) and sophomore Jazmyn Wajd (Tampa, Fla.), who finished first (8.86) and second (8.89), respectively.
 
Junior Tiffani-Rae Pittman (Bowie, Md.) and graduate Kailei Collins (Houston) took first (57.22) and second (59.77), respectively, in the 400-meter dash.
 
In the field, Hunter and freshman Asha Smith (Bowie, Md.) placed first (5.29 meters) and third (5.19 meters), respectively, in the long jump while graduate Minyarn Smalls (Cary, N.C.) secured gold in the shot put (13.20 meters).
 
Fifth-year Erin Hatcher (Silver Spring, Md.) and sophomore Temi Banwo (Allen, Texas) competed in the weight throw, earning first (18.33 meters) and third (16.51 meters), respectively.
 
All-American graduate Nyagoa Bayak (Westbrook, Mass.) dominated the high jump, leaping 1.72 meters (5'7.75") to victory.
 
On Jan. 26-27, Howard heads to Clemson, S.C., for the Bob Pollock Meet, hosted by Clemson University.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.