BCSP Notes . . .
Alabama State (W), Jackson State (M) take SWAC Indoor Track titlesAlabama State captured the women's title and Jackson State roared from behind to capture the men's title at the SWAC Indoor Track Championships conducted at the Carl Maddox Field House on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La.
Alabama State held a slim, two-point (32-30) lead over Southern after Day One, but the Lady Hornets outdistanced the Lady Jaguars by 33 points on the final day finishing with a team score of 119 points. On the men's side, Jackson State moved from fifth place position on day one to overtake first-day leader Grambling State by 15 points with a team score of 121-106.
Southern had two athletes gain top female
performer awards. Monica Robinson won the award
for field events while Erikka Thomas was won for
track events. In the men's events, Grambling State's
Marcus Marion gained top field honors while teammate
Kerone Fairweather earned top track honors.
FINAL RESULTS
WOMEN
1) Alabama State 119 2) Southern 86 3) Texas Southern 84
4) Alcorn State 78 5) Grambling State 70 6) Alabama A&M 49
6) Jackson State 49 8) Ark.-Pine Bluff 45 9) Prairie View 29
10) Miss.Valley St. 11
MEN
1) Jackson State 121 2) Grambling State 106 3)
Prairie View 105 4) Texas Southern 92 5) Southern 68 6)
Alabama State 55 7) Alcorn State 37 8) Alabama A&M 33 9)
Miss. Valley St. 7
New Track Star
Florida A&M sophomore Kevin
Hicks continued his meteoric rise into the ranks of 
track and
field's elite Sunday, when he won the 800 meter final at
the 2005 USTA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the
Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
The sophomore from Miami ran a 1:48.73 time in Sunday's final giving him the 2005 USTA national title in the event, besting a field of professional runners.
Hicks is the first FAMU athlete to win the indoor championships since Bob Hayes won the 60-yard dash in 1964.
Hicks, who won the 800 and the 1500 meters to win outstanding male performer and lead FAMU to their second consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor title last weekend, ran a 1:47.98 in the preliminaries, the fastest time in the qualifying rounds. Last summer, he ran in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1500, but Sunday's win puts him on track to ascend to the realm of Olympic hopeful for the 2008 Games in China.
Hampton senior hurdler Kellie Wells of Richmond, Va. finished fourth in the women's 60 meter hurdles. Hampton teammate Yvette Lewis of Newport News, Va., placed seventh in the triple jump and the Lady Pirates' Maisha Pinkard of Washington, D.C., earned third place in the 400 meters with a time of 54.35 seconds.
Burning up the Combine
Former Hampton wide receiver Jerome
Mathis continues to turn heads and improve his stock for the
April 23-24 NFL Draft at the NFL Combine being staged
this week in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mathis, coming off an outstanding performance in postseason Gridirion All-Star Classic, turned in what is not only the fastest 40 time at this Combine, but also what is believed to be the best in combine history at an electronically timed 4.32 seconds. Deion Sanders ran 4.28 in 1989, but his was hand-timed rather than the electronic times being registered this year. Mathis' hand-timed clocking was 4.25 according to longtime combine veterans Bill Parcells and Gil Brandt.
Mathis led the country with an average of 35.5 yards per return and set an I-AA record with five kickoff returns for touchdowns. The senior wide receiver is also the two-time NCAA East Regional champion in the 200-meters.
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.