WINSTON-SALEM, NC (March 11, 2022) - History was made today as SUNY Delhi participated in their first ever NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships. Sprinters Joshua Jeffes and Naquille Harris became the first SUNY Delhi athletes to compete at the NCAA level in the winter season, following teammate Seth Bywater who became the first in school history this fall when he ran in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The 2021-22 academic year is Delhi's first as a full member of the NCAA and they are set to take full advantage of it.
Jeffes, who set Delhi school records this year in the 200, 300 and 400 meter races was the first to take to the track. He ran a strong opening 180 meters in the 400 mete preliminary, when he was bumped and cut off by Liam Fost of Emory. Jeffes immediately rallied to go around Fost and start chasing the heat's leader, but the extra energy lost was too much to overcome and he finished third in his prliminary heat in 49.68 seconds, good for 12th place. However, a protest was filed on Jeffes behalf stating that he had been fouled and after reviewing the video, meet officials agreed he had been fouled. The result was the disqualification of Fost and the automatic advancement of Jeffes to the 400 meter final to be held Saturday.
Harris, who has set Delhi records this year in the 60 and 200 meter dashes to add to his 100 and 200 meter records from outdoors last spring, found himself in a loaded field. In fact, all of the top five times ever run in divison III for the 60 meter dash were represented in this meet. Harris jumped from the blocks, but had a slight stumble a few steps out setting him back and leaving a lot of work to do. He ran strong the rest of the way, but was unable to climb into the final finishing 16th in 6.91 seconds. Only the top eight advance to the final.
Jeffes will take to the track again Saturday at 3:20pm with a chance to make an even bigger mark in the programs history. Should he finish in the top eight in the final, he would become the college's first ever NCAA Division III All-American. You can follow live results or watch the live stream of the race. Both links are available on the track and field schedule page.
