Birmingham, AL — The UAPB Golden Lions came out swinging on the opening day of the 2026 SWAC Indoor Track & Field Championship, setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting Day Two as multiple athletes punched their tickets to tomorrow's finals.
On the men's side, sprinters Jared Sylvester and Nicholas Byrd delivered back-to-back qualifying performances in the 60 meters, crossing in 6.86 and 6.87, respectively, to earn the 5th and 7th seeds heading into the final. Navan McCoy kept the momentum rolling in the 60m hurdles, finishing 4th in his heat with an 8.04 to advance to tomorrow's final as well. In the 200m, Ross Walrond was nothing short of electric, posting a season-best 21.13 to earn the No. 2 seed in the final — one of the top performances of the day across the entire field. The distance squad also had a strong showing, as Kewarny Fletcher (1:53.42) and Genesis Joseph (1:53.65) both advanced out of the 800m prelims, finishing 5th and 7th, respectively, to set up an exciting final.
The women matched that energy in a big way. Arryona Simmons was the standout performer of Day One, advancing to the finals of the 60m hurdles with a 7th-place qualifying time of 8.64, while also posting impressive results throughout the pentathlon — finishing 2nd in the shot put (11.52m) and 7th in the high jump (1.50m, a personal record). Diamonae Thomas also punched her ticket to the 60m hurdles final after running a personal record 8.67 for 8th place. Glorie Kabuin had a tremendous double, qualifying 4th in the Women's 1 Mile final with a time of 5:20.14 before returning to finish 7th overall in the 3000m at 10:35.69, a personal record.
Cornelia Watts and the women's relay unit also turned in top-eight performances in final events. Watts soared to a 2nd-place finish in the Women's Weight Throw with a mark of 16.64m, while the Women's 4000m Distance Medley quartet of Kris-Ann Plummer, T'Kyla Bennett, Serena Douglas, and Glorie Kabuin clocked a season-best 12:40.44 to place 5th. On the men's side, Pierre Brownlee-Ford leaped to a 5th-place finish in the long jump with a season-best 7.18m (23-6.75).
Also worth noting, Altaveon Grant ran a season-best 1:54.82 to finish 10th in the Men's 800m prelims, Christopher Coleman posted a season-best 21.68 for 13th in the 200m, and T'Kyla Bennett ran a personal record 57.62 to place 17th in the Women's 400m.
Additional contributors on the day included Cadese Higgins (21st, Women's 200m — SB), Leyone Smith (24th, Women's 200m — SB), Kris-Ann Plummer (12th, Women's 800m), and Serena Douglas (15th, Women's 800m — PR).
The Golden Lions return to the track tomorrow for Day Two of the SWAC Indoor Championship, with several athletes poised to compete for conference hardware.
