HBCU Challenge Men’s Analysis: Opportunities snatched by NC A&T, Metto
Photos by Cheryl Treworgy/PrettySporty.com (action), and Christopher Shawn Coleman and Joy Kamani/NSAF (awards, team)
Coaches Duane Ross (left) and Perry Cabean (right) flank the winning North Carolina A&T Aggies.
Team and individual titles were truly up for grabs on the men’s side of the 5th Annual Robert Shumake HBCU Challenge Women’s 5k last Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., most notably because of the absence of Virginia’s Norfolk State – the only team champion the meet had ever known and from where three of the four previous individual champs had come.
And give credit to those who made it to the top of the podium – there was truly a sense of opportunities having been seized by Howard University’s Elisha Metto (photo at right) and the men of North Carolina A&T State University. Howard was competing in the meet for the first time and Metto, a junior from Kenya, took control of the race early and never gave it up en route to a 25:53.2 victory over 8k. Meanwhile, NC A&T revealed having been infused with energy from new coaches and recruits as it powered away in the second half of the race, coming from behind to triumph with 25 points.
Early in the race, it appeared that not only would Metto run away with the race, but that his Bison would, too. At 2k, Metto had a 12-second lead and Howard held the next five spots as well. NC A&T, meanwhile, was in 2nd with 66 points, with a quartet of runners in 11th-14th place – roughly 8-10 seconds behind the Howard pack.
But the Aggies had just begun, having more experience on the course and running with great patience. At the end, they held 2-5-6-7-9 behind Metto, while Howard’s next five had slipped to 10-11-12-18-28. A&T’s quintet included junior Saeed Jones (26:18.6), 7th last year and the #2 returnee, in the runner-up position, followed by freshman Darren White (26:34.8), junior Christian Harrison (26:36.8), frosh Franky Mills (26:43.9), and Dyronne Marbry (27:10.3) in those 5-6-7-9 spots.
St. Augustine’s University jr Torion Bailey, 6th last year and the top returnee, was 3rd overall in 26:25.9. Unattached runner Nicholas Summers from Greensboro was 4th in 26:34.4 and, mixed among the NC A&T finishers, Bowie State U.’s Ndjami Rheme was 8th in 26:52.6 and Howard’s #2 Elly Rono 10th in 27:12.7 to round out the top 10.
A&T’s 25 points was well ahead of Howard’s 48, followed by St. Aug’s 110, Hampton’s 143 and Virginia Union’s 177 among the first five. Bailey led St. Aug to the title among non-D1 schools with 42 points, followed by Virginia State 87 and Virginia Union 88 (even though VSU trailed VUU in the overall), and with Summers and Rheme being 2-3 individually in that group. A&T, Howard and Hampton, of course, were 1-2-3 in D1 scoring.
A&T far surpassed any of its previous efforts in the Challenge and Duane Ross, the school’s Director of Track and Field Programs, was quick to pass on the credit to new XC and distance coach Perry Cabean and the athletes. “We brought in a lot of good freshmen, they’re working hard and Perry has really stressed the importance of progressing week by week. There’s just a lot of excitement at A&T right now with a whole new staff.
“We’re looking forward to good things,” he added, “I would like to think we would have won this if Norfolk State was here, as well.”
Saeed Jones of A&T, Torion Bailey of St. Aug, Nicholas Summers and Darren White of A&T were finishers 3 through 6.
The freshmen, Ross said, “have really come in and taken the bull by the horns and they’re hungry, they’re passionate about what they’re doing. And that, in turn, has had our upperclassmen step up and run well, too ... We’re building the cross-country program from the ground up.”
Said Coach Cabean, “I explained to everybody that the way we could win this was by running cohesively together as a unit ... they knew at a certain time and point in the race that they were going to have to move together.”
As for Howard’s individual champ Metto, his strategy’s was simple and straightforward. “I liked that the course was down (at the beginning), that’s what made me increase my pace,” he said. “And then when I did the flat (part of the course), I keep it constant.”
St. Augustine's, the winners of the non-D1 men's race.
