ETTRICK, VA – The Virginia State Men's Outdoor Track & Field program is looking to repeat as conference champions when they travel to Durham, NC for the 2023 CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 5-6 at Durham County Stadium in Durham, NC. 

Under first-year head coach Frank Hyland, the Trojans are ranked first in the CIAA and 19th in the Atlantic Region by the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA).  

In the quest to repeat, Virginia State has several standout student-athletes performing at or near the top of the CIAA leaderboards, led by Jahaz Morgan, who provisionally qualified for the NCAAs with a triple jump mark of 14.83 meters. Morgan's triple jump mark, which he set at the Spartan Invitational on April 15, is second in the Atlantic Region and 26th in Division II. 

Jaelen Black is fourth in the CIAA in the 100-meters (10.67 seconds) and 14th in the 200-meters (22.67 seconds) and Jalen Brownlee is the top distance runner in the conference in the 1500-meters with a time of 4:04.42 minutes. Brownlee also sits ninth in the CIAA in the 800-meters (1:59.41). 

The Trojans' success in field events could really set them apart from the rest of the conference. Virginia State boasts the top conference performers in the shot put (Atrell Williams; 15.83 meters), the discus (Isaiah Ramadane; 45.93 meters), and the hammer throw (Ramadane; 43.17 meters). In the Atlantic Region, Williams ranks ninth in the shot put and Ramadane sits 10th in the discus. 

Last year at the CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Virginia State captured its seventh conference title overall and first since 1981. Brownlee, a then-freshman, was named the CIAA Food Lion Men's Outdoor Championship MVP for running events by winning the 800-meter, 1500-meter, and 5000-meter events. Ramadane earned a gold medal in the discus throw with a mark of 47.59 meters. 

Earlier at the 2023 CIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Virginia State finished fifth with 79 points, headlined by Williams earning his second straight gold medal in the shot put (15.63 meters). In the fall, the Trojans' men's cross country team earned a bronze medal at the 2022 CIAA Championship.

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