Elon, NC - In their first meet of the season, Howard Community College's track & field team made their presence felt!
Led by their impressive freshmen class, the Dragons scored two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal in the Phoenix Invitational, with freshman
Matthew Calinda (Hanover, MD/Meade) winning the men's 400m outright! The Dragons set a school record in the mens 4x100m relay, locked out the top-two spots in the 4x400 relay, and saw multiple athletes set personal records. For full results of the meet,
click here!
Highlights:
- The Dragons dominated the mens 4x400m relay to cap off the afternoon, taking both the gold and silver in the event. Aiden Moore (Beltsville, MD/St. Vincent Palotti), Matthew Calinda (Hanover, MD/Meade), Larry Brent (Columbia, MD/St. Vincent Palotti), and Nazeer England (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) won the race with a time of 3:25.54, while five seconds behind came the Dragons foursome of Pedro Egudu (Ellicott City, MD/Howard), Jayden Gallion (Glendale, MD/CMIT Academy), Anthony Robinson (Greenbelt, MD/St. Vincent Palotti), and Divine Rice (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) with a 3:30.15. Howard's third quartet of Rojae Campbell, Evan Taylor (Baltimore, MD/Mount Saint Joseph), Brandon McMillen (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills), and Isaac McGinnis (Clinton, MD/Dematha Catholic High School) finished fifth with a time of 3:37.18.
- Matthew Calinda (Hanover, MD/Meade) won his first outright event in the men's 400m, taking the top spot with a time of 48.60. Aiden Moore (Beltsville, MD/St. Vincent Palotti) cracked the top five with a time of 50.27 to finish in fifth place for the Dragons.
- The Dragons made the podium in the mens 4x100m with Nazeer England (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake), Aiden Moore (Beltsville, MD/St. Vincent Palotti), Emmanuel Addo (Columbia, MD/Hammond), and Divine Rice (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) taking third overall with a 42.11 time. The performance netted the quartet a school record for the 4x100. Rojae Campbell, Matthew Calinda (Hanover, MD/Meade), Larry Brent (Columbia, MD/St. Vincent Palotti), and Pedro Egudu (Ellicott City, MD/Howard) took fifth place with a time of 44.04.
- Teh Wessah finished fourth in the men's triple jump with a distance of 13.25 meters. Wessah missed the podium by 00.28 meters.
- Divine Rice (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) kicked off his season with an impressive fifth place finish in the mens 100m, coming home with a time of 10.92. Rojae Campbell set a personal record in 17th with an 11.24.
- Pedro Egudu (Ellicott City, MD/Howard) was in contention for the men's long jump, finishing fifth overall with a distance of 6.48 meters.
- The Dragons just missed out on a top-five in the men's 400m hurdles, with Larry Brent (Columbia, MD/St. Vincent Palotti) finishing sixth with a 58.81 time.
- Divine Rice (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) cracked the top ten in the men's 200m with a 21.96, good enough for eighth place.
- Brandon McMillen (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) set a personal record in the men's 800m, finishing in 12th with a 2:01.85.
- Temiloluwa Akinsanya (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) set her own personal record in the women's hammer throw with a distance of 32.67 meters.
The Dragons will next travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational, with events spread across March 20 to March 22.
