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PHILADELPHIA – The North Carolina Central University men's 4x100-meter relay team recorded the school's fastest time in eight years to place fifth in the College Finals of the prestigious Penn Relays on Saturday.
 
The NCCU foursome of senior Joshua McClam (Holly Springs, N.C.), sophomore Deontae Williams (Tampa, Fla.), junior Jonathan Williams (Wake Forest, N.C.) and sophomore Isaac Roberts (Greensboro, N.C.) finished the 4x100m relay in 40.68 seconds, edging teams from Morgan State (40.71), BYU (40.83) and Cornell (40.91) in the finals, while finishing less than a second behind Army (40.53), Northeastern (40.40), LIU-Brooklyn (40.24) and event winner Auburn (39.82).
 
"The guys have prepared themselves immensely for the Penn Relays," NCCU interim track and field head coach Tavius Walker said about the 4x100m relay unit. "Our first objective was to get through the semifinal rounds and into Saturday's college final. We ran well on Friday and were able to end up placing ourselves among the best in Saturday's championship race. I am extremely proud that we were able to represent the institution.
 
Walker remembers the last time NCCU achieved such a performance in the 4x100m event. "In 2008 we had a strong 4x100-meter relay team - one of the best in the nation," Walker said. "It's a delight to have four young men who are cohesive, and to put together one of the best relays we have seen here in the past 10 years."
 
With the conference championship event less than a week away, May 5-7 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Walker feels the relay squad is ready. "The guys are extremely excited and we are looking to build on this momentum into the MEAC Championships," he said.
 
The NCCU women's 4x100m relay team tallied a solid performance too, but fell just shy of advancing to the College Finals. The relay unit of sophomore Markiara Staten (Pollocksville, N.C.), freshman Bethany White (Gaithersburg, Md.), senior Christa Landy (Salisbury, N.C.) and senior Santese Pryor (Durham, N.C.) crossed the finish line in 19th place out of 86 relay teams in a time of 47.14 seconds, just four one-hundredths of a second from qualifying for the finals.
 
"The women's 4x100 ran extremely well, as well," Walker said. "It's heartbreaking when you miss competing in championships by four one-hundredths of a second, but it is also a reality check.
 
"I am proud of them. These young ladies are undoubtedly ready for the MEAC Championships and we expect great results from our women as well."
 
In other NCCU relay events, the men's sprint medley (Joshua McClam, Jonathan Williams, Kevin Vincent, Deandre James) placed 14th in 3:32.93, and the women's 4x400m relay (Christa Landy, Kiana Seabrook, Santese Pryor, Jaleesa Smoot) place 43rd in 3:55.78.
 
MEAC indoor triple jump champion Zoe Ellis (Charlotte, N.C.) represented NCCU with a leap of 11.73 meters to place 15th at Penn Relays.
 

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