Track and field athletes Keyona Smalls and LaQuan Priest have already earned a spot in the Claflin University athletics’ history books.

In the program’s inaugural year as a full-fledged member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the freshman and sophomore duo are the school’s first-ever NCAA Division II individual qualifiers. Beaufort native Smalls qualified in the 200 and 400 meters, events she swept at the SIAC Tournament Track and Field Championships in Atlanta, while Georgetown native Priest qualified in the triple jump, in which back in April he set a school record with a leap of 15.17 meters.

Starting this Thursday in San Angelo, Texas, Smalls and Priest will attempt to make more history for Claflin as they compete in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Nationals Meet.

Smalls’ quest for gold begins at 7:10 p.m. EST Thursday with the preliminaries for the 400 meters. She will compete the following day at 6 p.m. EST in the 200 meters with the goal of reaching Saturday’s finals.

Priest will not get started until 5 p.m. Saturday. when he and 15 fellow jumpers will compete in the finals of the triple jump. In addition to vying for a medal, Smalls and Priest have an opportunity to become Claflin’s first Division II All-American athletes. The top eight finishers in the finals of each event will earn such status.

Smalls already has a first-team All-SIAC honor to her credit in the 400 meters, while Priest was a second-team selection in the triple jump. In all, seven Panthers and Pantherettes were named to this year’s All-SIAC team.

n T&D Senior Sports Writer Thomas Grant Jr. can be reached by e-mail at tgrant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5547. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

 

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