MOBILE, Ala. - The 2023 Southern States Athletic Conference outdoor track and field championships wrapped up on Saturday with a busy schedule of events. The Talladega College Tornadoes capped a solid weekend with more record-setting performances and a handful of conference titles as well.

As a team, the Talladega men nearly reached the 100-point threshold, finishing in fifth with 92 points. The 'Dega women finished eighth with a total of 25 points.

"I'm very proud of the way the team competed today," said 'Dega track coach Ranard Adkison after the day's activities had concluded. "The SSAC is one of the top track and field conferences in the NAIA, and we went toe to toe with some of the best athletes in the country. The men's team was battle-tested, and I'm very confident that we are in good position to compete for a national team title in late may. That has been the goal since day one."

For the second day in a row, the Talladega men set multiple SSAC Championship records. The day got underway with a record-breaking trip in the 4x100-meter relay. The quartet of Anthony Gentles, Nastario Williams, Jonathan Meadows, and Christian Louis won the event title, and in the process, they knocked better than two tenth of a second off the previous meet record which was set by William Carey University in 2016. Their time of 40.64 seconds was also nearly eight tenths quicker than the second-place finishers from Life University.

Less than an hour later, Emmanuel Niang hit the track and continued his incredible spring with another record-setting victory. Niang posted a time of 14.22 seconds, which bested the old meet record of Brewton-Parker College's Brandon Schultz from 2019. That performance set up what was arguably the best team event performance of the day. Meadows set a record in the 400-meter hurdles, and he and Niang finished 1-2 at the front of the pack, while Cornelius Catlin also scored in the event. The trio scored a combined total of 19 points in the 400-hurdles. 

Williams finished second in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. In both events, he was bested only by the defending NAIA National Champion Phemelo Matlhabe from Life University. In the 200, Williams and Matlhabe both bettered the previous SSAC Championship record in the event. In the 200-meter final, the Tornadoes again had three runners placei n the top eight, as Williams, Isiah Bain, and Louis combined for 13 points. 

Both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams finished third, as did Williams in the Javelin, and so was Makel Patrick in the High Jump.

Dhaenia Pinnock set a new program record in the women's 100-meter dash, and Dhenecia Pinnock did the same in the 200-meter dash. The women's 4x100 relay team posted a new program record and came within an eyelash of reaching the NAIA "B" standard in the race. Meadows' run in the 400 hurdles, Williams' performance in the 200-meter dash, the men's 4x100 relay effort, and Patrick's mark in the long jump all also set program bests. 

Louis and Meadows also newly reached the NAIA "A" qualifying standards in the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles, respectively.

The Tornadoes will be back in action on May 5 when they take part in the Life University Last Chance qualifier in Marietta, Georgia.