Results
DURHAM, N.C. (May 6) – Led by the running of
Symone Wright, the Shaw women's track & field team placed fourth out of 10 teams in the 2023 CIAA Outdoor Championships at Durham County Stadium on Saturday.
It was the best finish since 2018 for the Lady Bears, who rebounded from last year's last-place finish (out of seven teams) to challenge the CIAA's top squads. Shaw was in second place after the first day and was in third for most of the second day.
Fayetteville State defended its CIAA crown with 171.13 points followed by Virginia State (89) and Saint Augustine's (77.13). The Lady Bears (72.26 points) were five points away from claiming third place, thanks to Wright and solid performances in the field events.
Symone Wright saved the best for her signature event – the 400 hurdles. The CIAA's top-ranked 400 hurdler, Wright stormed out the blocks and broke the school record, which she set earlier this season, to gain the victory. The Shaw senior crossed the finish line in a personal best and NCAA Division II provisional time of 1:02.07.
Wright also ran a personal best in the 100 hurdles, finishing second in a provisional time of 14.23 seconds. On Friday, Wright placed fourth in long jump.
In addition to her individual events,
Symone Wright was part of the fifth-place 4x100 squad and eighth-place 4x400 team. The 4x100 team also consisted of
Anijah Triggs,
Brijette Basden and
Micah Wright. The 4x400 team included
Micah Wright,
Vanaia Diggs and Basden.
Her versatility allowed
Symone Wright to be the top overall individual scorer at the championship meet (male and female) with 23 points.
While
Symone Wright was blazing the track, the duo of
Ashanti Wright and
Gabrielle Henry continued to score in the field events.
Ashanti Wright was second in the discus with a toss of 127-11 and Henry placed seventh with a throw of 117-0. On Friday,
Ashanti Wright and Henry were third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put.
In the high jump, Basden was seventh while Triggs and
India Pulphus tied for eighth.
Florence Wreh placed eighth in the triple jump to round out the Lady Bears' scoring.
