Outdoor Track & Field Season Preview: Dillard

NOTE: All results below are from the 2019 outdoor season as 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19.

Head Coach: Nile Legania (First Season)

Top Men’s Returners:
• Tyrone Barrow (Sr, New Orleans, La.)
• Cody Branch (Jr, Marrero, La.)
• Langston Carter-Price (Jr, Jackson, Miss.)

Key Men’s Student-Athletes Lost:
• Tavis Baptiste (GCAC Runner-Up in hammer throw / third in GCAC in shot put / sixth in GCAC in discus throw)
• Darrien Shepherd (GCAC Champion in 4x100m relay / eighth in GCAC in 100m / top-25 in NAIA B in 4x100m relay)
• Jerry Talley (GCAC Runner-Up in 4x800m relay / seventh in GCAC in 1500m)

Top Men’s Newcomers:
• N/A

Top Women’s Returners:
• Deniyah Downs (Jr, Gulfport, Miss.)
• Ryan Smith (Jr, Los Angeles, Calif.)
• Seauanna Watson (Jr, Kyle, Texas)

Key Women’s Student-Athletes Lost:
• Amara Edwards (GCAC Champion in high jump)
• Jasmine Elliott (GCAC Runner-Up in triple jump / third in GCAC in 4x100m relay / Seventh in GCAC in 100m and 200m)
• Kia Howard (Seventh in GCAC in 100m hurdles)

Top Women’s Newcomers:
• N/A

PREVIEW: The Dillard University Outdoor Track & Field program only competed in one meet last season before the COVID-19 pandemic struck with the men earning second and the women placing third at the William Carey University Qualifier.

Coach Legania takes over the program after spending the last ten seasons as the Head Coach at Edna Karr High School down the street in New Orleans.

The Bleu Devils bring senior Tyrone Barrow back along with juniors Cody Branch and Langston Carter-Price.

Barrow was a stud in 2019, helping guide the 4x100m relay team to a GCAC Championship in a time of 41.89 seconds while ranking among the NAIA B’s top-25 times for the same event at 41.75. He was also the conference runner-up in both the 100m (10.82) and the 200m (21.96).

Branch beat out Barrow by 0.17 seconds for the title of GCAC 200m Champion (21.79) and joined him in bringing home the gold in the 4x100m relay. His 10.70 time in the 100m was among the 40-best marks in the NAIA that year and he ran the event in 10.83 at the GCAC Championships to place third.

Carter-Price was a part of the GCAC 4x800m relay runner-up squad that posted a time of 9:51.67 and claimed fourth in the other relay event he ran in, the 4x400m (3:28.82). Individually, he recorded four points with a fifth place finish in the 800m (2:04.84).

The Lady Bleu Devils have a trio of juniors back in the mix as Deniyah Downs, Ryan Smith and Seauanna Watson return for the blue and white.

Downs came in fourth place during the 2019 GCAC Championships in the triple jump with a leap of 10.79m.

Smith was a part of the team’s 4x100m relay that earned the bronze with a time of 49.76 seconds.

Watson was crowned the Conference Champion in 2019 in the shot put event, launching the shot 11.53m for the victory.

DU does not currently have its schedule posted on its athletics website.

The next outdoor track & field preview will take place tomorrow with Philander Smith.