COLUMBIA, S.C. – Nearly 600 of some of the top track and field athletes in the country will be in Columbia to take part in the 2025 Cricket SIAC Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
 
The championship is being hosted by Benedict College and all competition will take place at the Sheila and Morris Cregger Track on the campus of the University of South Carolina. Local sponsors include Richland County, Columbia SC Sports, Founders Federal Credit Union, and RARE Leaders. Spectator tickets are $10 per day, or $28 for a three-day pass. Tickets can be purchased at www.benedicttickets.com.
 
The championship kicks off on Tuesday, April 22, with a welcome event, cookout and awards presentation on the campus of Benedict College. The championship events begin on Wednesday, April 23, with the start of the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon events, preliminary track heats, and champions crowned in four field events and two distance runs.
 
On Thursday, April 24, action continues in the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon events and more preliminary running heats. Eight champions will be crowned in field events, as well as the men's and women's steeplechase run.
 
Friday, April 25 will wrap up the championship with finals in four field events and the exciting conclusion of 20 running events.
 
Benedict College is the reigning men's champions. The Tigers have won the SIAC Championship for the past four years and are one of the favorites heading into the 2025 championship. Morehouse College will once again be a factor on the men's side. Benedict's Darian Clarke ranks ninth in NCAA Division II in the men's 200-meter dash, and 33^rd in the men's 100-meter dash. Zack Washington ranks 12th in the men's long jump.
 
Albany State is the defending champions on the women's side and should be one of the favorites this year. Benedict was the 2024 women's runner-up, with Clark Atlanta in third.
 
Other notable competitors from the SIAC include:

• Sprinter Kibren Moore from Albany State is one of the nation's top sprinters, ranking 7^th-fastest in the 100-meter dash and 9^th-fastest in the 200-meter dash.
• Samuel Vassat from Edward Waters ranks 10^th in the nation in the men's 400-meter dash.
• Sprinter Michael Simmons Jr. from Morehouse, who ranks 18^th in the nation. Morehouse hurdler Jeremiah Alibey ranks 20^th in the nation, while Morehouse's 4x400-meter relay team ranks 15th in the nation.
• Tuskegee's Shawn Jarrett II ranks 25^th in the nation in the men's 400-meter hurdles.

Some of the top women competitors to watch will be:

• Tuskegee's An'Janae Latchinson, who ranks seventh in the nation in the 400-meter hurdles. She'll be matched up against Albany State's Nathalia Rowe, who ranks eighth in the nation.
• Spring Hill's JaTerralyn Hamilton, who ranks 16^th in the nation in the 100-meter dash. She'll be going against Albany State's Cadence Cray, who has the 22^nd-fastest time in the country this season.
• Albany State's 4x100-meter relay team ranks 15^th in the nation.