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HBCU Athletic Conference

HBCUAC presents Preseason All-HBCUAC Men’s Track and Field Team, Rankings

HBCUAC presents Preseason All-HBCUAC Men’s Track and Field Team, Rankings
March 7, 2025

NEW ORLEANS - March 7, 2025 - The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference announces its 2025 Preseason Men's Track and Field All-HBCUAC Team and Preseason Team Ranking, as voted on by the conference's head track and field coaches. Points are derived from the order they ranked athletes and teams.

Dillard University athlete Jamaal Morris Jr. claims 2025 HBCUAC Preseason Track Athlete of the Year. Morris won the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes and finished third in the 100-meter dash at the 2024 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship. He was a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship qualifier in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4 x 100-meter relay and 4 x 400-meter relay. He finished runner-up in the 200-meter dash.

Stillman College's Christopher Johnson earns 2025 HBCUAC Preseason Field Athlete of the Year. The Tigers joined the HBCUAC in July 2024, after previously competing in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). Johnson finished runner-up in the discus and third in the shot put at the SSAC Championship. He qualified for the NAIA national championship in the discus throwing a season-best 50.63 meters on April 5. 

Making up the rest of the team are:

Darren Petty Jr. of Dillard University: Won the long jump at the 2024 GCAC Championship and earned All-GCAC in three events.

Markel Myles of Dillard University: Earned NAIA All-American in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4 x 400-meter relay. Won the 400-meter hurdles at the 2024 GCAC Championship.

Xavier Hutchinson of Wiley University: Repeated as GCAC Javelin champion also placed third in the triple jump.

The conference also released the 2025 Preseason Team Rankings. Dillard University, which is seeking its fifth straight conference title, led the rankings with 76 points and garnered seven of nine first place votes. Talladega College, which finished runner-up last season with two events called off (weather), finished second with 65 points. Wiley University finished third with 64. The complete rankings are below:

  1. Dillard University (7) 76

  2. Talladega College 65

  3. Wiley University 64

  4. Philander Smith 47

  5. Stillman College 40

  6. Voorhees University (1) 35

  7. Rust College 31

  8. University of the Virgin Islands (1) 25

  9. Fisk University 22

The 2025 HBCUAC Track and Field Championship will take place at Lee Hedges Stadium in Shreveport from April 11-12. Fans can watch live on the Urban Edge Network.

 

-HBCUAC-

About HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Oakwood University (AL), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.