Livingstone College hosts track meet and alumni reunion April 5

SALISBURY, NC ­– What track team doesn’t have a track to run on? Until recently it was Livingstone’s.

For years the Livingstone College track team had to travel to North Rowan High School for practices. However, the fact that the athletes ran on borrowed lanes didn’t seem to faze them as they continued to run and compete in meets at record-setting levels and produce “more NCAA All-Americans than any other sport programs combined.”

“The program has been ranked in the top three of the CIAA, nine of the past 13 seasons and ranked in the top 25 in the nation, six times in the past decade,” said Livingstone’s athletic director and head track & field coach Clifton Huff. “This year’s team consists of three outdoor track-and-field All-Americans and two indoor track-and-field All-Americans (including) Jordan Vaden (who) is a five-time NCAA All-American sprinter and has been ranked among the top 50 sprinters in the world in the 200-meter.”

Now the Livingstone track-and-field athletes can continue training toward even greater goals at home. A new eight-lane, polyutec rubber track, including two long-jump pits, has been installed at the college. To celebrate, the track-and-field program will host the First Livingstone Freeman Classic/Fifth Annual North Rowan Classic in April. The event will begin with a reception for track alumni Friday, April 4, at the Holiday Inn. The reunion will begin at 7:30 p.m. The college’s inaugural track meet will begin 10 a.m. Saturday, April 5, in the 6,000-capacity Alumni Memorial Stadium – the largest outdoor athletic facility in Rowan County.

This track meet, where more than 30 regional high schools and a dozen colleges will compete, is named for Livingstone president Dr. Algeania W. Freeman for her “dedication and commitment to the track program and her hard work securing the track.”

“This is an opportunity for track alumni to see and appreciate the positive changes the Stone has made,” said Adrian Ferguson, sports information director. “The meet is to say, ‘Thanks,’ to the president and honor the former athletes who have been successful for the program and helped pave the way.”

Registration for the weekend-long event is $25 per person. General admission for the meet is $2. More information is available through the Sports Information office: 704-216- 6179 and on the web at www.livingstone.edu.