Women's Cross Country | September 19, 2025

ALBANY, Ga. – The Clayton State University cross country teams continued its season at the Willie Laster Invitational hosted by Albany State University on Friday evening.  The men's team picked up the Invitational Championship with scoring only 24 points while the women finished fourth out of 12 schools.
 
MEN'S SIDE
The Lakers picked up their first meet title since September 30^th, 2016, when they won the SCAD Cross Country Invitational. The men's team saw five top 10 finishers.  Leading the charge was Camron Gaddis who was the race's runner up with a time of 26:22.1.  That is the highest individual finish of Gaddis' career, and he was one of only two runners to go sub-27 in the race. 
 
Rakiem Barnes, who finished in third, and Emanuel Dixon, who finished in fourth, followed Gaddis.  Barnes clocked a time of 27:07 while Dixon ran a time of 27:09.3.  James Morrow and Nehemiah Horton rounded out the top five finishers for the Lakers.  Morrow clocked the seventh fastest time with a time of 27:38.7 while Horton, in his season debut, finished with a time of 28:02.4.  Morrow set a new PR in the race by nearly 25 seconds. 
 
The Lakers also saw Mykell Strickland and Dion Dial make their first starts of the season and they placed in the top 15 overall.  Josh Soluade, Terry Mitchner, and Brandon Nolen also saw strong finishes for Clayton State as the Lakers earned the meet win. 
 
Below is the full list of Laker finishers
2^nd: Camron Gaddis: 26:22.1
3^rd: Rakiem Barnes: 27:07.0
4^th: Emanuel Dixon: 27:09.3
7^th: James Morrow: 27:38.7*
8^th: Nehemiah Horton: 28:02.4
12^th: Mykell Strickland: 28:48.8
13^th: Dion Dial: 28:59.0*
17^th: Abubakr Jallow: 29:12.9*
25^th: Josh Soluade: 30:59.4*
27^th: Terry Mitchner: 31:09.9
45^th: Brandon Nolen: 33:40.0
 
*New PR
 
WOMEN'S RACE
The ladies' team was led by Jada Warren.  Warren finished in fourth place with a time of 20:51.2.  Warren was one of only four runners that finished sub-21 minutes and picked up her second career top five individual finish in her Laker career.  Following behind was Marley Tate and Ahlana Failey.  Tate clocked a time of 22:44.2 and finished 15^th while Failey crossed the finish line in 16^th place with a time of 22:51.8. 
 
Kalkidan Hawkins and Maleena Castillo rounded out the top five on the team in the race.  Hawkins placed 26^th with a time of 24:15.2 and Castillo clocked a time of 25:03.7 finishing in 33^rd.  Amaya Myers closed out the Laker women with a 55^th place finish.  Race host Albany State won the women's race with 50 points and Tuskegee followed only four points behind in second. 
 
Below are all the Laker runners at the Willie Laster Invitational:
4^th: Jada Warren: 20:51.2
15^th: Marley Tate: 22:44.2
16^th: Ahlana Failey: 22:51.8
26^th: Kalkidan Hawkins: 24:15.4
33^rd: Maleena Castillo: 25:03.7
55^th: Amaya Myers: 29:07.7
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lakers continue their season as they compete in the GCSU Bobcat Invitational on Friday, September 26^th.  The meet hosted by Georgia College is set for 5 p.m. for the women's race and 6 p.m. for the 8K men's race. 
 
Be sure to follow Clayton State Athletics, "South Atlanta's College Team" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.