Ross Earns No. 1 Ranking In Men's 200-Meters On Saturday ... Briefly

LEMSON, S.C. -- North Carolina A&T indoor track and field sophomore Randolph Ross came into this weekend's Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson University, No. 1 in the nation, along with his teammates in the men's 4x400-meter relay.

That's not bad for a sophomore, but not good enough for Ross. On Friday at the Tiger Paw, he took over the No. 1 spot in the men's 400 meters with a blazing 45.21. That's not bad to be a sophomore and No. 1 in the country in two events. But that's not quite good enough for Ross.

On Saturday, as the Aggies men's and women's indoor track and field teams concluded the two-day meet at Clemson, for a moment, Ross became the No. 1 men's 200m sprinter in the nation by scorching the track at the Rock Norman Track and Field Complex in 20.50.

Mr. Ross, at one point on Saturday, was No. 1 in the nation in three different events as the NCAA indoor track and field championships approach, March 12-13, at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.

That changed when LSU's Terrance Laird ran a 20.41 at the Tyson Invitational at Arkansas to top Ross. At the same meet, Florida's Joseph Fahnbulleh ran a 20.42.

He will now get back to work to try to claim the national title in that event.

But Laird and Fahnbulleh will have more Aggies to deal with in March than just Ross in the 200m. Ross' teammate, freshman Javonte Harding, finished second behind Ross on Saturday with a time of 20.54.

Harding is sixth in the nation after his performance on Saturday. Three other Aggies finished in the top-10 in the 200m on Saturday, including senior Tavarius Wright in fifth (21.08), junior Daniel Stokes in seventh (21.10) and junior Malcolm Croom-McFadden in 10th (21.33).

Another likely to join Ross and Harding in Fayetteville is junior Delcia McDuffie. McDuffie finished the women's 200m on Saturday in 23.24 to place second. McDuffie's time moves her to sixth in the nation in the event.

Juniors Kamaya Debose-Epps and Cambrea Sturgis also placed in the top-10 in the women's 200m. Debose-Epps placed sixth (23.70), and Sturgis crossed the finish line in 23.71.

Sturgis, Ayoola Gbolade, Carolyn Brown, Paula Salmon teamed to finish sixth in the women's 4x400 with a time of 3:46.91. N.C. A&T also had competitors in the women's 800m and the men's 3000m on Saturday. Gbolade was the top Aggie in the 800m with a time of 2:10.32. Kimble placed 15th in the 3000m (8:58.46).

N.C. A&T added another meet to their schedule to precede the NCAAs. Some Aggies will get another chance to qualify for the postseason at the Camel City Invitational at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., Feb. 19-20.