Dillard Women’s Track & Field Earn Relay Victory, Multiple Top Finishes
HAMMOND, LA– The Dillard University women's track and field team delivered a strong performance this weekend, highlighted by a relay victory, an individual event title, and several top-three finishes across the meet.
On the track, Ta'nyia Flowers and Mackenzie Cannon led the way in the 100 meters, finishing second and third respectively. Flowers crossed the line in 12.50, while Cannon followed closely with a time of 12.52, giving Dillard two podium finishes in the event.
In the 200 meters, Laila Johnson recorded a time of 26.00 to place fifth, while Desire Robinson finished sixth with a time of 26.32.
The Bleu Devils showed depth in the 400 meters, placing four athletes in the event. Ta'nijal Matthews led the group with a sixth-place finish in 59.91, followed by Tori Burton (1:00.21) in seventh, Desire Robinson (1:00.39) in eighth, and Tatiana Clay (1:01.23) in ninth.
Freshman Karlise Davison highlighted the middle-distance events with an impressive performance in the 800 meters, capturing first place with a time of 2:27.67.
In the distance events, Nhaydia Flowers recorded a second-place finish in the 5000 meters with a time of 23:27.16, while also competing in the 1500 meters, finishing in 6:15.17. Kennedy Timmons also contributed in both events, placing fourth in the 5000 meters (24:20.24) and 16th in the 1500 meters (6:30.98).
Over the hurdles, Laila Johnson continued her strong day with a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking 15.06. Raniyah Gross placed fifth in the event with a time of 16.74 and later finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 1:19.88.
The highlight of the meet came in the women's 4x100-meter relay, where the quartet of Tori Burton, Mackenzie Cannon, Ta'nyia Flowers, and Ta'nijal Matthews captured first place with a time of 47.06, earning the NAIA "B" standard qualification.
In the field events, Darneé Williams led the Bleu Devils' efforts in the throws. Williams placed third in the shot put with a mark of 10.36 meters (34'0"), while also competing in the discus (25.43m, seventh place), hammer throw (21.29m, 12th place), and javelin (21.86m, sixth place).
-Bleu Devils-