Men's Track & Field | March 6, 2026
MORROW, Ga. – The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) announced its Outdoor Track & Field Coaches' Polls for the 2026 season. The Clayton State University women's team were picked fourth and the men's team were picked to finish in a tie for sixth. Embry-Riddle was picked to finish on top of the podium this season in both the men and women. The Lakers also kickoff their outdoor season on Saturday at the Savannah State Eye Opener. Coach Brown and the Lakers are hoping to carry momentum from the indoor season into the outdoor season. At the indoor championships, the men finished fifth and the women stood in fourth.
MEN'S SIDE
The men are led by sprinters
Marcus Robinson and
Kevin Turner and distance runners
Camron Gaddis,
Sancho Smith, and
Rakiem Barnes. Robinson broke the 60m dash mark in the indoor season clocking a time of 6.88. He also had a strong showing at the Indoor Championships in the 200m finishing with a time of 21.93, which was fourth in the conference. Turner also had a strong conference championship finishing fourth in the 60m dash with a time of 6.90. He also finished seventh in the 200m dash with a time of 22.16. Both Robinson and Turner will contribute to the 100m, 200m dashes and the 4x100m relays this season.
On the distance side,
Camron Gaddis is coming off a record-breaking performance in the mile as he broke the program record with a time of 4:13.06. Both Barnes and Smith also had strong performances in the 800m run at the indoor championships finishing with times of 1:53.79 and 1:55.40, respectively. Look for Gaddis to dominate in the 800m and 1500m runs and Barnes and Smith to blow the 400m and 800m runs out of the water.
In the field events,
Davonte Jackson,
Christian Wiltshire, and
Derrick White lead the Lakers into the outdoor season. Jackson is coming off a solid indoor season where we saw him break the 60m hurdles record, twice, eventually finishing with a time of 8.33. He also finished with all-conference accolades in the long jump, triple jump and the 4x400m relay. Jackson enters this outdoor season chasing the 110m and 400m hurdle records as well as the long and triple jump records. Wiltshire and White have continued to step up in the jumps as well. White finished fifth in the long jump in the indoor championships and Wiltshire enters the outdoor season with a PR of 1.90m.
WOMEN'S SIDE
The Lakers are led by short sprinters
Destiny Hanna,
Jada Jenkins, and
Ziona Harris as well as distance runners
Marley Tate,
Ahlana Failey, and
Ivorie Smith. Hanna proved to be the fastest women in the PBC at the Indoor Championships as she placed on top of the podium in the 60m dash with a time of 7.74. Hanna also finished strong in the 200m dash with a time of 25.85. Destiny is looking to take that momentum in the 100m and 200m dashes and in the 4x100m relays. Jenkins also was solid in the indoor season finishing fourth in the 60m and 200m dashes at the conference meet with times of 7.89 and 25.61, which are both new PRs. The two Laker sprinters are looking to make huge contributions to the squad in the outdoor season.
Tate, Failey, and Smith round out the impact Lakers on the track. Marley is coming off a win in the 40m dash at the conference meet with a time of 56.46, which was also good for a provisional mark. This is the first time a Laker has hit a provisional mark since 2023. Failey also had a strong showing in the 800m run as she finished fifth in the conference championships with a time of 2:17.17. Smith enters the outdoor season as the defending champion in the 400m hurdles and in the 4x400m relay.
In the field events, The Lakers are led by
Keira Davis,
Gabriella Lawrence, and the duo of
Jacquelyn Johnson and
Hailey Jackson-Morgan. Davis is one of the only consistent pole vaulters in program history and she also had a solid indoor season. Keira finished second I the indoor high jump with a mark of 1.57m. Davis also holds the indoor pole vault school record. Lawrence has the jumps on lock as she saw successful performances in the long and triple at the conference championships. Lastly, Johnson and Jackson-Morgan turned out strong showing in the indoor shot put and weight throw. Coach Brown is going to look to this unit to score some major points throughout the outdoor season.
Below are the full results of the PBC Coaches' Poll
Men's Results:
| Place |
Team |
Votes (First Place) |
| 1 |
Embry-Riddle |
35 (5) |
| 2 |
Augusta |
28 (1) |
| 3. |
Flagler |
26 |
| 4 |
USC Beaufort
Columbus State |
16
16 |
| 6 |
Clayton State
Lander |
13
13 (1) |
Women's Results:
| Place |
Team |
Votes (First Place) |
| 1 |
Embry-Riddle |
46 (7) |
| 2 |
Flagler |
42 (1) |
| 3. |
Augusta |
39 |
| 4 |
Clayton State |
26 |
| 5 |
Columbus State |
23 |
| 6 |
Lander |
21 |
| 7 |
North Georgia |
16 |
| 8 |
USC Beaufort |
11 |
Please visit claytonstatesports.com for more information regarding the Savannah State Eye Opener.
Be sure to follow Clayton State Athletics, "South Atlanta's College Team" on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.