RICHMOND, VA.- Virginia State Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field team had a successful weekend competing at the annual Fred Hardy Invitational on March 30-31. The women's team posted a total of 13 top five finishes; 3 wins, 5 second place wins, 2 third place spots, a single fourth place finish and 2 fifth place finish. The men's team had a total of 13 top five finishes including 6 first place wins, 1 second place win, 2 third place finish, a single fourth place and 3 fifth place victories.

TEAMS THAT COMPETED:
University of Virginia , Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, Roanoke, Shippensburg, LaSalle, Shaw, Virginia Union, David & Ellis, Mansfield, Johns Hopkins, Loyola MD, Mary Washington, Concord, Hagerstown CC, Stevenson, UNC Greensboro, Longwood, Edinboro, and Virginia State

WOMEN:
Recording top numbers on the women's side for the Trojans were Alexandria Moseley with a first place 400m time of 58.00 and Jeia Gilliam with a first place range in the shot put (13.66m) and discus (47.49m) events. Alongside her second place javelin finish with a measurement of 40.07m, Gilliam is currently ranked 25th in the Nation in Shot Put, 11th in Discus, and 12th in Javelin.

The 4x100 Relay quartet of Zainab Bangura, Christina Adlam, Ebonee Byrd, and Kenya Warner secured a second placed time of 48.13, while Jade Jordan controlled the long jump and triple jump events with second place measurements of 5.38m and 11.36m respectively.
Collecting third place finishes for VSU were Christina Adlam with a long jump range of 5.31m and a 4x400 team of Kyla Frank, Alexandria Moesley, Zainab Bangura, and Deriel Green with a time of 3:56.61. Securing a fourth place finish in the 400m with a time of 59.85 was Deriel Green while Kenya Warner and Zainab Bangura rounded out the top five finishes at the Fred Hardy Invite. Warner collected a triple jump range of 11.04m while Bangura collected a 100m time of 12.72.

MEN:
The Trojans dominated several events taking the first place spot. Allen Blair, one of the Trojans top competitors had a successful weekend on the track, placing first in the 100m with a time of 10.77. Blair also clinched the first place win in the 200m with a time of 21.45. The 4x100 Relay team (Stephen Anderson, Allen Blair, Steven Murdock, and Milton Coleman-Sledge), took first place with a time of 41.76, as well as the 4x400m team (Murdock, Blair, Coleman-Sledge, and Evans) who came in first with a time of 3:18:34.  In the field competitions, Keith Barbour leaped to a first place victory in Long Jump (7.01m) while Emmanuel Oguntoye came in first in Triple Jump (14.59m).

Rounding the curve in a close second place finish were Stephen Anderson in 100m with a time of 11.03 and Steven Murdock in the 200m with a time of 22.21.

Moving along through the meet, Tyron Evans came in third place in the 800m finals, crossing the finish line at 1:55.82. Top contender, Dajawn Williams, placed third in the High Jump finals with a leap of 1.94m. Securing a fourth place spot in the men's triple jump was Alijah Benymon with a range of 13.30m.

Finishing the 2-day invite in fifth place were Stephen Anderson in the men's long jump (6.72m) and Brandon Slade in the men's shot put with a toss of 13.61m.
 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE TROJANS:
The Trojans will be gearing up for the Berkeley Realtor Colonial Relays at William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA from Friday, April 6, through Saturday April 7. With successes from the Fred Hardy Invitational, the Trojans will look to continue their run to be the best and prepare for the CIAA championships.

For more information on VSU Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field team, visit gotrojans.com, follow Trojans Athletics on Twitter @VSUsports, or call 804-524-5030.