Huston-Tillotson, Fisk, Stillman claim Week 4 HBCUAC Women's Track and Field Honors

NEW ORLEANS - Huston-Tillotson sprinter Chaleica Booker three-peats as Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Women's Track and Field Track Athlete of the Week. Fisk University thrower Jackie Bownes takes Field Athlete of the Week. Ari Branch garners Freshman of the Week. Stillman College thrower Taylor Hopgood earns Newcomer of the Week. They were honored for their performance between March 30-April 5, the conference announced on Tuesday.

Booker ran a season-best 23.83 in the 200-meter dash at the Bobcat Invitational. She finished ninth and third out of non-NCAA athletes in a field of 58 athletes. 

Bownes finished second in the shot put at the University of West Georgia Legends Meet throwing a school record of 13.09. This is the third time in as many meets that she has set the record.

Branch, who was the 2026 HBCUAC Women's Basketball Freshman of the Year, finished fourth in the long jump with a personal best 5.3 meters. She ran 12.93 in the 100-meter dash, which is also a personal best.

Hopgood threw personal bests in three of her four events at the Doc Anderson Invitational. She was the top NAIA finisher in the Shot Put, Discus, Hammer and Javelin Throw. 

Additional women's track and field weekly nominees: Tori Burton (Dillard), Danae Chris-Anderson (Huston-Tillotson), Nhaydia Flowers (Dillard), Tikeria Miller (Wiley), Shaloni Walker (Dillard)

2026 HBCUAC Women's Track & Field Athletes of the Week

About the 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), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), 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 soccer, 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.