Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons looked solid on day one of the 2026 NJCAA Region 20 outdoor track & field championships, winning one event outright and setting multiple personal bests.

Ameer Mowad (/) swept the preliminary races for the mens 100 and 200m dashes, while Daniel Warner (Marriottsville, MD/Marriotts Ridge) stole the show with a fantastic debut in the men's javelin throw. The Dragons tallied crucial points as they look to win their second Region 20 track championship in the last three seasons.

Track Highlights

• Ameer Mowad (/) dominated his 100m heat, setting a time of 10.74 and qualifying as the top seed for Saturday's final. Teammates Demetrius Lewis (/) and Caleb Adams (Pasadena, MD/Chesapeake) both qualified for the finals, finishing with times of 11.13 and 11.15 respectively in their heats. All three Dragons will be in the mix for the 100m final tomorrow.
• The Dragons swept the 200m preliminary heats, behind another solid performance from Ameer Mowad (/). Mowad took the top seed for tomorrows final with a time of 21.95. Demetrius Lewis (/) won his heat by nearly a full second with a 22.28. Caleb Adams (Pasadena, MD/Chesapeake) smashed his competition from the gun, finishing with a time of 22.44. The Dragons held three of the top-five best times in the heats and will be heavy favorites for tomorrow's final.
• The Dragons came home second in the men's 4x800m relay, setting a season-best time of 8:40.11 in the process.
• Samone Haywood (Columbia, MD/Hammond) and Taneya Watson (Bowie, MD/CMIT Academy) both qualified for the women's 100m dash on Saturday. Both finished second in their competitive heats, with Haywood scoring a 12.68 and Watson scoring a 13.23.
• Jason Winter ran as high as third and stayed in the mix in a highly-competitive mens 10k race. Winter would finish with a time of 42:50.76.

Field Highlights

• Daniel Warner (Marriottsville, MD/Marriotts Ridge) dominated the men's javelin throw, setting the longest throw in five of the six rounds and taking the gold in his first ever attempt at the javelin throw. Warner set the longest distance of 42.88m, seven meters farther than his nearest competitor. Ameer Mowad (/) finished fourth for the Dragons, impressing in his javelin debut with a best distance of 30.89m. Jaylen Etheridge (/) took seventh for Howard with a distance of 29.44. All three Dragons made the finals in their first attempt at the event this season.
• The men's long jump was hotly contested, with the Dragons in the mix throughout the event. Chancellor DeRosier (/) would lead Howard's contingent, finishing second in the event and setting a personal best of 6.72m in the process. Chase Price and Brando Campos (Baltimore, MD/Hammond) both performed well in the event, finishing with distances of 5.64 and 5.09m respectively.
• Chukwueloka Okafor (Burtonsville, MD/Paint Branch) finished third overall and second in conference in the men's hammer throw, setting a distance of 30.27m in the process. Richard Saunders (/) and Evan Taylor (Baltimore, MD/Mount Saint Joseph) both performed well in the competitive event, finishing sixth and seventh.
• Taneya Watson (Bowie, MD/CMIT Academy) set a personal best in the women's long jump with a distance of 4.99m.
• Chase Price and Brandon Campos competed in their first pole vaults of the season, with Price getting a podium in third with a high jump of 2.90m. Campos finished fourth for the Dragons with a height of 2.75.

The intense competition at Dragon Stadium will be back tomorrow, as the Dragons and the other Region 20 schools battle for the Region 20 championship.