COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College men's outdoor track and field team captured its fifth straight Cricket SIAC Championship, winning the title in the final event on Friday at the Sheila and Morris Cregger Track on the campus of the University of South Carolina.
 
The Tigers finished with 149.50 points, edging Morehouse, which finished with 142 points. Albany State finished third with 120 points.
 
Zack Washington, who earned the Field Performer of the Year award, won a gold medal in the high jump, which was still going on after the traditional final track event, the 4x400-meter relay, which Morehouse came in second while Benedict was third.
 
Washington won the high jump with a jump of 2 meters (6 feet, 6 ¾ inches), while Morehouse's Logan McCormick finished third in the event. That swing gave the Tigers the necessary points to claim the championship.
 
Washington also scored one point in the javelin with an eighth-place throw of 38.50 meters (126 feet, 4 inches). He also won the long jump on Wednesday, giving him 21 total points for the championship.
 
Benedict head coach Danny Brooks was named the SIAC Coach of the Year for guiding the Tigers to the championship.
 
Benedict took first and second in the discus. Chase Ransom won the gold with a throw of 45.45 meters (149 feet, 1 inch). Morris Walker was second with a throw of 44.41 meters (145 feet, 8 inches).
 
Benedict took gold in the 4x100 meter relay. The team of David Smith, Matthew Paul, Javel Best and Darian Clarke won with a time of 40.18.
 
DuShaun Tucker finished third in the javelin throw with a mark of 44.19 meters (145 feet). He also finished sixth in the shot put, which was resumed from Thursday after it was suspended due to weather. Tucker had a mark of 13.67 meters (44 feet, 10 ¼ inches).
 
Terrel Alexander won a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.11, while Javel Best and Matthew Paul also scored. Best was fourth with a time of 47.53, while Paul was sixth with a time of 47.78.
 
Darian Clarke was fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.43. David Smith and Zion Jones also scored. Smith was seventh with a time of 10.65 and Jones was eighth with a time of 10.71.
 
Clarke finished third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.78, while Alexander was fourth with a time of 20.92 and Best scored with a seventh-place finish with a time of 21.06.
 
Benedict's team of Javel Best, Matthew Paul, Jacobie Sims and Jesaiah Jones finished third in the 4x400-meter relay race with a time of 3:10.32.
 
Jacobie Sims finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.82.
 
David Epps finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time 14.75, while Sims was sixth with a time of 14.92.
 
Kelvin Kiprop was fourth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:47.96, while Nelson Kipkemboi was fifth with a time of 17:09.02.