PETERSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Union University men's track & field team closed out the 2026 outdoor regular season with a strong showing at the VSU Relays on Saturday, April 18, hosted by Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia. The meet also served as a preview of the venue that will host the upcoming conference championship.
"This meet wrapped up our regular season," said VUU Head Track & Field Coach Franck Charles. "There weren't a lot of teams competing, but the main focus going into this meet was to get a feel for the track and field event areas since our conference championship will be hosted at Virginia State University."
Following the competition, the Panthers recognized two senior student athletes for their contributions to the program.
"After the meet, we were able to recognize two of our men's seniors," Charles added. "One was
Dequan Boone, who has been with us since day one. We truly appreciate everything he has done for our program. We also recognized
Jaleal Hamlett, who transferred in and spent two years with us. He also helped our program become what it is today. I am very proud of both of them."
Field Events
The Panthers delivered several strong performances in the field events, highlighted by multiple event victories.
Boone led the way by winning the hammer throw and finishing second in the shot put.
Jayvien Pinnock captured first place in the triple jump, while Trevion Hooker won the shot put.
Zachary Jones added another victory for VUU by winning the discus throw.
Jeremiah Palacious placed second overall in the long jump.
Timothy Butler finished second in both the discus and hammer throw and placed fifth in the shot put.
Hamlett earned a third-place finish in the javelin, while
Patrick Taylor took third in the hammer throw and fourth in the javelin.
Michael Wilson Jr. finished fourth in the hammer throw and fourth in the shot put.
Jabari Wilson placed fourth in the javelin and fifth in the hammer throw.
Running Events
On the track,
Barrian Authurs delivered one of the meet's standout performances, winning the 400-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 54.13. The mark also set a new Virginia Union school record in the event.
Rashad Smith placed second in the 400-meter dash, while Rodgers Korir finished second in the 800 meters.
Jonathan Holton took third in the 800 meters.
Derrick Harrell placed third in the 400-meter hurdles. Darryl Hawkins Jr. finished fourth in the 800 meters, while
Antonio Smith placed fourth in the 200 meters.
Anthony Stewart and
Zmere Paige both recorded fourth place finishes in the 400-meter hurdles.
Keon Koonce placed fifth in the 800 meters, and the Panthers' 4x100-meter relay team finished third overall.
Virginia Union will now turn its attention to the CIAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which will be held May 1–2 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia.
