SEWANEE, Tenn. - For the second season in a row, the Talledaga College men's track team will have representation at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Brookings, South Dakota. In their first meet of the season, the Tornadoes headed to the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee to take part in the Tiger Indoor Invitational, and two 'Dega sprinters qualified with B Standards for the Championships, which will take place at the end of February.

Emmanuel Niang and Nastario Williams each reached NAIA B Standards, Niang in the 55-meter hurdles and Williams in the 55-meter dash, as the Tigers put together an excellent meet to open the 2024 Indoor Track and Field Season.

Niang opened his defense of his 2023 indoor 60-meter hurdles title with an event win in the 55-meter hurdles at the Tiger Invitational .The sophomore won his heat in the hurdles preliminary event in a time of 7.71 seconds, and he shaved five-hundredths off of that time in the finals when he posted a tile of 7.66 seconds to win the event. Williams also claimed victory in his preliminary heat in the 55-meter dash in a time of 6.49 seconds, and in the finals, he hit the B Standard in claiming the victory with a time of 6.38.

The two wins led the Tornadoes to a second place finish as a team where they amassed a total of 86 points, just six points behind the top-finishing team at the meet - Bryan College (Tenn.) who scored 92. The meet field consisted of 15 teams from across the NAIA, as well as NCAA Divisions II and III, and the NJCAA. Berry College (Ga.) finished third with 82 points, Reinhardt College (ga.) was fourth with 53 points, and Tennessee Wesleyan University and Marion Military Institute (Ala.) rounded out the top-5 with 52 points apiece.

Anthony Gentles claimed victory in the 400-meter dash in a time of 52.91 seconds, and he was followed to the line by teammates Lawrence Thomas III (54.34) and Jonathan Meadows (54.54) as the Tornadoes swept the podium in the event.

The Tornadoes set some program and personal records in the meet as well. Decquan Nisbett set the program mark in the mile at 5:00.12, and his teammate Isaiah Millet set a personal best (5:17.22) in the same event. The success was not limited to the track either, as Stephon May won the high jump with a program record mark of 1.90 meters. Jaylen Haynes (12.37m) and Danrick Rovinson (12.22m) each also eclipsed the previous school record mark in the shot put.

'Dega will take next weekend off before returning to action on February 9-10 at the Samford University Bulldog Open.