Prairie View A&M's men's track and field team delivered a strong early-season statement at the HBCU Showcase on Saturday at The Armory in New York, highlighted by event victories, a school record and multiple all-time program marks. The Panthers combined sprint, middle-distance and field event success to position themselves prominently against regional HBCU competition.
In the middle distances, Sebastian Cruz turned in one of the headline performances of the day with a school-record run in the 800 meters. He clocked 1:53.58 to finish second overall at the meet, lowering the Prairie View A&M standard in the event. The effort gives the Panthers a major boost in one of the key championship events and underscores Cruz's growing role as a centerpiece of the middle-distance group.
Thierry Garcon added significant depth on the distance side with a pair of personal bests that also rewrote the program's record books. Garcon ran 4:24.92 in the mile, the fourth-fastest time in Prairie View A&M history, then came back with an 8:43.94 performance in the 3,000 meters, the third-fastest mark ever for the Panthers. The combination of times provided critical scoring potential in the distance events and signaled a major step forward for Prairie View A&M's long-distance unit.
On the track in the sprints, the Panthers showed balance across the short and long sprint events. Michael Rucker ran 7.08 in the men's 60 meters, while Anthony Mangram recorded an 8.53 in the 60-meter hurdles. In the longer sprint, Bryce McFadden turned in a 22.17 performance in the 200 meters, contributing to a productive day for the sprint group and setting the tone for relay success later in the meet.
Prairie View A&M converted that sprint depth into a marquee relay victory. The men's 4x400-meter relay team of McFadden, A'isayah Brown, Todd Woods and De'Trevyon Goudeau won the event in 3:17.06, closing the track schedule on a high note for the Panthers. The winning time underscored the team's strength in the quarter-mile and provided valuable momentum heading into the championship portion of the indoor season.
In the field events, Prairie View A&M claimed two event titles and another strong horizontal jump performance. Devin Miller won the high jump with a clearance of 2.04 meters, securing a key event victory in the vertical jumps. In the pole vault, Darryl Muckelroy cleared 4.45 meters to win the event and add another gold to the Panthers' tally. Shawn St. Romain contributed in the long jump with a 6.70-meter effort, helping round out a solid day for the field event unit.
With wins in the high jump, pole vault and 4x400 relay, along with a school record in the 800 and multiple top-five all-time marks in the distance races, Prairie View A&M used the HBCU Showcase to establish an early-season standard. The Panthers will look to build on these performances when they return to action Jan. 30-31 at the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they will test themselves against a broader national field.
