Hamrick Claims Gold in 400 Meters, Highlander Women Take Third Place at Big South Outdoor Championships

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Radford Track & Field teams had a finals day to remember, placing on the podium in five separate events to conclude the 2026 Big South Outdoor Championships at Vert Stadium on Wednesday. The ladies took third overall with 99 points, while the men edged out Longwood in their return to team status with 25.5 points.

"This was an emotional meet because this senior class is so special," began Director of Track & Field Shelli Sayers. "They turned the culture around and left a legacy that will last forever. I cannot pick just one performance that stands out. Jeylah (Hamrick) put on a show and earned another championship. Jaslyne (Robinson) was ninth her freshman year in the 400-meter hurdles and just worked and worked, and to medal in that today and set a school record in the 100-meter hurdles is special. Tyrique (Taylor) has a unique story of his own. He was patient through the addition of track, stayed the course, and leaves the meet with some medals and a record."

THE BASICS
Final Results – Women, 3rd (99 Points) … Men, 7^th (25.5 Points)
Meet: Big South Outdoor Championships
Location: Vert Stadium (High Point, N.C.)

NOTABLES

Jeylah Hamrick got after it and then some in the 400 meters, crushing the competition by nearly a full second to take gold. Her time of 52.81 was a personal best and was over a second faster than her personal best prelim time and ranks second on the all-time performance list. Hamrick has now won the Big South 400 meters twice in indoor season and once outdoors.
The women's 4x400 relay team got it done to take the silver medal, running a 3:42.84 to make them comfortable in second. Raichelle Cornelius, Mattie Flores, Jaslyne Robinson, and Hamrick were all smiles on the podium.
Robinson put it all together in both 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. She took the third podium spot with a time of 59.80 in the 400 before taking a strong fifth place in the 100. She set the school record with a time of 13.89 in the prelims of the 100 hurdles on Tuesday. Leah Moye added a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
In a terrific race, the women's 4x100 relay ran a season-best to earn a third-place finish. Makayla Nelson, Janaya Moore, Jaelynn Joiner, and Hamrick made it a pair of podium finishes for the Radford relay teams.
Hamrick totaled four podiums on the day, taking third place in the 200 meters while running a season-best time of 23.81 seconds in the event.
Transfer Tyrique Taylor seemingly came out of nowhere to take second place in the discus this afternoon. Going up against several monster throwers from Gardner-Webb and USC Upstate, the senior from Christiansburg got into the final before setting a school record throw of 50.95 meters (167'2") to become the first men's track athlete to podium since the 2012 meet. By scoring a total of 12 team points, Taylor earned Co-Newcomer of the Year, with his point total tying that of Nigel Steenwinkel of High Point. He also was Radford men's athlete on the All-Academic Team, boasting a 3.88 GPA.
Sophie Magson ran a terrific 1500 meters and missed out on the podium by four tenths to third place. Settling for fourth, her time of 4:27.96 was a personal best. The senior concluded her career on a high note, as the British distance runner heads to Northwestern University for grad school.
Magson and Kayla Fields scored some team points with finishes of fifth and seventh in the 5000 meters, respectively. Magson paced the distance in 17:28.67, while Fields totaled 15 kilometers of mileage in the meet and ran a time of 17:37.90 in the 5K. Fields was also named to the Big South All-Academic Team, having a 3.985 GPA as a Geospatial Science major.
Nelson nearly added a podium to her contribution on the 4x100 relay, finishing fourth with a personal best time of 11.74 seconds in the 100 meters. She also placed sixth with a mark of 1.58 meters (5'2.25") in the high jump.
Cornelius and Flores helped pad the Radford point total in the 400 meters, taking home fifth place (55.47) and seventh place (55.98), respectively. Flores' time was a personal-best in the event for the sophomore.
Andrew Picataggi shared fifth place with Cole Wilson of High Point in the high jump. The freshman reached a mark of 1.94 meters (6'4.25") before bowing out.
A special shoutout deserves to go out for the men's 4x400 relay team of Quinlan Beegle, Spencer Thacker, Logan Hamilton, and Azrael Cabusao. Four distance runners competing against the Big South's best sprinters, they gave it their all to close out the day.