Men's Track & Field | February 14, 2026
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Clayton State University track & field teams competed in its final tuneup before Conference at the Bulldog Open hosted by Samford University on Saturday. The Lakers competed well and carried great momentum into the Conference meet.
MEN'S SIDE
Action on the track started in the 60m dash as
Marcus Robinson qualified for the finals and placed eighth with a time of 6.99.
Drewmel Banks and
Kevin Turner also finished in the top 15 for the Lakers in the prelims. In the 60m hurdles,
Davonte Jackson qualified for the finals and finished in fourth with a time of 8.55. In the mile,
Camron Gaddis placed fourth a time of 4:17.68 while
Emanuel Dixon PR'd with a time of 4:27.61. The Lakers also had breakout performances in the 800m run as
Rakiem Barnes finished in third with a time of 1:56.18 and
Sancho Smith crossed the finish line fifth, clocking a time of 1:56.90.
In the 200m dash, Robinson achieved a new PR with a time of 22.09, which is the fourth fastest in the league. Marcus finished in seventh overall. Turner also finished in the top 10 overall with a time of 22.23, while Banks placed 11
th finishing in 22.50. Both times were PRs for Turner and Banks. The Lakers concluded action on the track the 4x400m relay as the team of Robinson,
Santonio Rio,
Jamien Wright, and Banks clocked a time of 3:25.16.
In the field, in his Laker debut, Xavier Smith-Robinson finished in ninth in the shot put with a final mark of 11.83m. Smith-Robinson also competed in the weight throw finishing with a final mark of 10.30m. In the long jump, Jackson finished in eighth with a final distance of 6.59m, while
Derrick White posted a new PR with final mark of 6.42m. Davonte followed that performance up with a fourth place finish in the triple jump with 14.31m.
WOMEN'S SIDE
Action on the track begun in the 60m dash as
Destiny Hanna posted a new PR with a time of 7.84. She remains third all-time in program history and is in second place in the PBC. In the mile,
Jada Warren finished ninth with a time of 5:40.43. The Lakers then saw
Ziona Harris and
Mariah Handy post top 10 finishes with times of 60.05 and 60.19, respectively. In the 800m run,
Marley Tate continues her strong season as she finished in fourth in with a new career-best time of 2:24.36 while
Ahlana Failey finished in fifth with a time of 2:24.53.
Following the 800m run was the 200m dash and Hanna continued her strong meet as she ran the second fastest time in the conference with a time of 25.72.
Jada Jenkins then followed with the third fastest time finishing in 25.87. Action on the track concluded in the 4x400m relay as the team of Handy,
Justice Lester,
India Williamson, and Harris finished in second place with a time of 4:04.35.
In the field,
Jacquelyn Johnson posted two new PRs. In the weight throw, she threw a final distance of 8.34m while she threw 10.09m in the shot put. In the jumps,
Gabriella Lawrence finished fourth in the triple jump with a final mark of 10.87m while she jumped to a 4.92m distance in the long jump. Action in the field concluded in the long jump where both Lawrence and
Keira Davis jumped to a final height of 1.50m finishing in a tie for 10
th.
Below are the top 15 finishers for the Lakers in this meet:
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Lakers competing in the 2026 PBC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Monday, February 23
rd in Gainesville, Fla. Please visit claytonstatesports.com for more information.
Be sure to follow Clayton State Athletics, "South Atlanta's College Team" on
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