GREENSBORO, N.C.- Senior Sydney Brown (Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford), sophomore Jamie McCreary (Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley), sophomore A’lexus Newkirk (Greensboro, N.C./Eastern Guilford) and sophomore Nick Jones (Summerfield, N.C./Northern Guilford) recently concluded the 2016 season as members of Guilford College’s outdoor track and field teams.
Brown, who completed her fourth and final season with the women’s team, specialized in middle distance and competed in five meets. She ran her best 400-meter dash in one minute and 9.97 seconds at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championships, which placed 12th at the meet. The time was Guilford’s fifth-fastest in the event this year. She also had her best 800 clocking (2:51.23) at the ODAC meet. Brown was part of Guilford’s 4×400 relay at the Seahawk Invitational at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, which ran the fourth-fastest time in school history (4:29.70).
Brown leaves as a key contributor to some of the fastest relays in school history. She was part of four of the five-quickest 4×400 relays in school history and ran on four of the Quakers’ top-seven 4×100 relays. An honors student who also ran cross country for Guilford, Brown is three-time Academic All-ODAC selection and made the dean’s list and Guilford Student Athlete Honor Roll in each of her eight semesters. She also received Guilford’s 2016 Outstanding Psychology Student Award and graduated May 14 with degrees in both psychology and art.
McCreary specialized in sprints and competed in three meets. She ran the second-fastest 200 (28.42) in school history at the ODAC Championships. Her season-best 400 time (1:10.31) was Guilford’s sixth-best of the year and placed 21st at the Seahawk Invitational. McCreary also ran on Guilford’s 4×100 relay at the ODAC meet, which set the school record with a seventh-place time of 52.48 seconds.
Newkirk also specialized in sprints and competed in four spring meets. She ran her season bests in the 100 (14.17) and 200 (29.30) at the ODAC Championships. Newkirk was also part of the aforementioned record-setting 4×100 relay at the ODAC Championships. She also helped the Quakers to achieve fourth-and eighth-places, respectively, in the 4×400 at the Seahawk Invitational (4:30.12) and the Dr. Jack Tom’s Open (4:35.58).
Brown, McCreary and Newkirk helped Guilford’s women placed ninth in the ODAC Championships. Head coach Danny Cash expects 15 letter winners to return next season, including McCreary and Newkirk.
Jones joined the Quakers from Randolph-Macon College, where he did not run track. He specialized in sprints and competed in three meets. Jones ran his best 100 time at the ODAC Championships in 12.06 seconds. He also ran his season best in the 200 with a time of 24.82 seconds.
The Quakers’ men placed seventh in the ODAC Championships. Head coach Danny Cash expects 11 letter winners to return next season, including Jones.