Howard sophomore Jahnari Lyons won the first women's 200 meters heat in 22.36 seconds to automatically qualify for Saturday's 9:37 p.m. final. Lyons's time was the fourth fastest in the field.
Howard had a 400 meter hurdle competitor advance and one finish just out of the top nine. Sophomore Cenaya Billups finished second in the third heat in 55.44 seconds with the fourth-best time. Senior Aniya Woodruff ran 56.30 to finish third in the first heat, falling .08 short.
Southern junior Tashina Alase finished first in the third women's 100 meter hurdles heat in 12.90 seconds to advance to Saturday's 8:42 p.m. final. She had the eighth fastest time.
In the first women's event today (Thursday), the 4x100 relay, neither Howard nor Florida A&M advanced to Saturday's final. Florida A&M finished seventh in the second heat in 43.46 while Howard was fourth in the third heat in 43.66.
These are the events and times for today's (Thursday's) women's semifinals
4x100 Meter Relay with Howard and Florida A&M
8:05 p.m.
100 Meter Hurdles with Southern's Tashina Alase
9:09 p.m.
400 Meter Hurdles with Howard's Cenaiya Billups, Aniya Woodruff (Howard)
10:14 p.m.
It was the 10th-fastest time but earned the last spot in the final by virtue of finishing in the top two in their heat. Friday's 4x400 final is set for 10:21 p.m.
The Taylor twins will also be in the 4x400 meter relay finals after they teamed with Elijah Thomas and Dyimond Walker to clock 3:02.19 to finish second in the third heat.
In the men's 400 meter hurdles semifinals, NC A&T twin juniors Isaiah and Xzavier Taylor both finished second in their heats to advance to the Friday's 9:27 p.m. final. Isaiah ran 49.0 flat in the third heat while Xzavier clocked 49.28 in the first heat.
Tharpe told the ESPN broadcast, "I have more in my legs." Florida A&M senior Leonard Mustari finished eighth in Tharp's heat in 13.58 and did not advance to the final.
The second 110 hurdles heat, Auburn junior Ja'Kobe Tharp broke the world record in the event, running a blistering time of 12.75 seconds. Tharp, the defending champion in the event, surpassed American Aries Merritt's record of 12.80, a mark that had stood since September 2012.
In his individual event, the 110-meter hurdles, Holmes won the third heat in 13.1 seconds to earn his place into Friday's final. Holmes also broke the A&T and CAA record previously held by teammate Isaiah Taylor. His time placed him fifth headed into Friday's 9:42 p.m. final.
Their time is only behind the 2017 4x100 team that recorded 38.48 at NCAA nationals. Wednesday's time did break the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) 4x100 record.
The 4x100 final is set for 8:02 p.m. Friday.
Senior Jason Holmes teamed with junior Lassale Hewlett, senior Jalen Booth-Mitchell, and junior Nakhi Benjamin posted the sixth-best time of 38.53. It marked A&T's fastest 4x100 time of the season and the second-fastest time in school history.
Black college tracksters performed well Wednesday in the NCAA Div. I Track & Field championships in Eugene, Oregon.
In the first event on the track, North Carolina A&T finished third in heat two of the 4x100 relay.