WILMINGTON, NC— Fayetteville State opened its outdoor season with an impressive collection of performances at the UNCW Seahawk Invite, showcasing depth across sprints, distance events, relays, and throws. The Broncos delivered podium finishes, personal bests, and standout debuts as the team begins building toward championship form ahead of their next appearance at the Myrtle Beach Spring Break meet.
The sprints group set the tone early, highlighted by Malaysia Barber, who produced one of the best all‑around days on the track. Barber placed 10th in the 100 meters with a 12.30 before returning to the 200 meters to claim fifth in a personal‑best 25.04. Amaya Cummings followed closely behind in both events, running 12.34 in the 100 and 25.33 in the 200 to secure top‑15 finishes in a deep collegiate field. Angel Scott, Ziyah Etchison, Ma'Ryah Hargrove, Mia Thompson, and Sierrah Matthews added depth across both sprint races, with Kimora Chawlk earning a personal best of 28.18 in the 200.
Taniya Dickerson continued her strong start to the year in the hurdles, placing eighth in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.33 before returning to clock 1:08.47 in the 400-meter hurdles for a fifth-place finish. Sanai Phillips finished 11th in the short hurdles and ninth in the long hurdles, contributing valuable points to the Broncos' overall showing.
In the 400 meters, Sierrah Matthews ran one of her best open performances of the early season, placing fifth in 58.09. Jayda Wilson also completed the event with a time of 1:08.90.
The middle distance squad put together a strong outing as well. Repline Cheptoo led the Broncos in the 800 meters with a seventh‑place finish in 2:29.12, while Sanai Forte earned a personal‑best time of 2:33.87 to place ninth. Mikalyn Chambers followed in 2:36.44.
The 1500 meters brought another top‑10 performance when Ashley Bell ran a personal‑best 4:57.40 to finish sixth. Nia Gibson also produced a solid result with a time of 5:05.15.
The Broncos dominated the distance events with a commanding performance in the 5000 meters. Videlma Jebet won the race in 18:58.96, leading a powerful 1–2 finish as Pelisha Kosgei crossed just behind her in 19:01.36. Irene Jeptoo added a seventh-place result at 22:29.42, giving Fayetteville State three top‑seven finishers in the event.
In the field events, Adriana Quamina delivered one of the team's best individual performances of the meet. Quamina placed second in the discus with a throw of 43.09 meters and added a seventh-place finish in the javelin. She also secured third in the shot put with a personal‑best 13.07 meters, joining Aaliyah Whyte, who placed second with a strong 13.25-meter effort. Paige Simmons‑Norris contributed across multiple events, placing seventh in the discus and ninth in the shot put.
Mia Thompson turned in a fourth‑place finish in the long jump with a mark of 5.50 meters, one of the Broncos' top field results of the day.
Fayetteville State closed the meet with two competitive relay efforts. The 4x100 meter "A" squad of Sanai Forte, Ziyah Etchison, Barber, and Cummings clocked a 47.41 to finish fourth overall, while the "B" team of Hargrove, Dickerson, Williams, and Chambers placed seventh in 49.88, giving the Broncos two top‑eight relay finishes.
The Broncos return to action March 19–21 at the Myrtle Beach Spring Break meet in Conway, South Carolina, where they will face a large early‑season field and continue building toward the championship phase of the season.
