PUEBLO, CO (May 24, 2023) – For the second year in a row, Claflin track & field will make it’s way to the national stage as Panther freshman Jaevon Riley is set to compete in the 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Men’s National Championship Meet. Riley will represent the university on a national level when he competes in the men’s 400m hurdles at the meet.
Riley’s appearance is the next step in an already impressive freshman season. He began his quest with a terrific performance during the indoor track & field season. He first made his mark during the indoor track & field season when he was a member of a pair of relay teams that paved the way for the Panthers to claim the first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship in school history. He started the weekend as a member of the Panthers’ distance medley relay team that posted an 11:02.78 and took first place in the event finals. He was also a member of the Panthers’ 4x400m relay team that posted a 3:19.48 and clinched the 2023 CIAA Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship.
It was during the outdoor track & field season where Riley really began to find his stride and truly began to make his mark. He first among the nation’s best when he ran a 52.98 in the men’s 400m hurdles at the Georgia Tech Invitational to post his first NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time of the season. For his efforts, he was named the CIAA Food Lion Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week. He followed that effort with a great performance at the 2023 CIAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet where he placed second in the men’s 400m dash with a 47.91 and he followed that performance with a second-place finish in the men’s 400m hurdles at the conference championship meet. He recorded a 52.68. He was also a member of the Panthers’ 4x400m relay that claimed first place at the meet with a 3:11.20. He saved his best performance of the season for the Lee University Last Chance Meet where he ran a 52.12 to place second. It was this time that punched his ticket to compete in the national championship meet.
Riley will be the first Panther to compete in the NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championship Meet since 2019 when former Panthers Derick St. Jean and Davion McKnight-Allen both competed in the meet.
The 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championship Meet will be held at the Neta & Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl in Pueblo, Colorado. Riley will take part in the first round of the men’s 400m hurdles at 9:55 p.m. (EST). The meet will feature live results and will be streamed live at www.NCAA.com.
For more information on Panthers track & field, contact the Claflin University Office of Athletics Media Relations at (803) 535-5548 or log on to www.athletics.claflin.edu.