ROCHESTER, NY (March 4, 2022) - It was a fast start for the Broncos on day one of the All Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships on Friday.
Senior sprinter Jaylynn Sheppard continued her incredible season capping it with a new school record performance. Sheppard, who started the year with a lifetime 60 meter personal best of 8.24 seconds has been running out of her mind this season. In January, she ran 8.02 dropping over two tenths of a second from her lifetime best. In February, she ran 7.97 seconds to go under the eight second barrier for the first time. On Friday, in the preliminary round of the AARTFC Championships, Sheppard dropped an incredible performance of 7.84 seconds, not only shattering her personal best, but also taking down the school record of 7.92 seconds held by Tatianna Kistner. The performance advanced Jaylynn to the 60 meter final to be contested on Saturday, qualifying her in the third position.
Fellow sprinter Kadie-Ann Whyte also had another big day. Whyte, who started the season in December with an 8.35 second performance has continued to drop her time in both the 60 meters and the 200 meters all season. By the end of January, she had run 8.19 seconds then in February she dropped the time to 8.03. On Friday, she posted her first ever performance under eight seconds with a time of 7.99 seconds. This performance makes her the third fastest performer in program history. Although she did not advance to the final, she will be racing Saturday in the 200 meters.
On the men's side, Seth Bywater posted the first Delhi points of the meet with a seventh place finish in the men's 5,000 meters. Bywater ran 15:17.07 to score the two points, putting Delhi on the scoreboard. Also running on Friday for the men was sprinter Naquille Harris. Harris ran the preliminaries of the 60 meter dash, easily winning his heat to advance to Saturday's final in the third spot based on time. Finally, freshman hurdler Mickenson Simon hot the track Friday. Simon, who has been making good progress as he adjusts to the height of the college hurdles, matched his lifetime best with an 8.92 second performance to place him 17th in the region.
Saturday will see both Sheppard in the 60 meter final and Whyte in the 200 meters for the women. For the men, we will see Harris in the final of the 60 meters and 200 meters, Joshua Jeffes in the 200 and 400 meter races and Seth Bywater in the 3,000 meters. Delhi competition starts at 11:45 with the women's 60 meter dash.
