Earlier this week, Howard women’s track and field team celebrated a 121-point team victory at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championships in Virginia Beach, winning their fourth consecutive indoor title.
Led by senior runner Joslyn Crosby, who was named the Most Outstanding Track Athlete for her triple-gold medal performance, Howard won the 2025 title with a MEAC championship-record 256 points, surpassing second-place Norfolk State’s 135-point total.
This year’s championship yielded the highest point total of their title run as well as the highest margin of victory, according to Howard University Athletics. Crosby, along with Tiffani-Rae Pittman, Jasmyn Hunter and Camille Egbula are the senior class that has been a part of each conference champion team for the past four years.
“I already had my goals,” Crosby said. “I was hoping to just be able to go out there and do what I can, you know? My senior year, so I was going to try and leave my mark.”
The second day of finals began with four consecutive wins, starting with 60-meter hurdles champion Marcia Sey, followed by a 60-meter dash title defense by Kailei Collins, a come-from-behind mile victory by Joslyn Crosby and a 400-meter dash win by Kiya Lawson, who returned after missing her sophomore season.
The dominant stretch of victories gave the Bison a commanding lead that proved nearly insurmountable.
The sprint events were anchored by Kailei Collins who capped her performance with a 200-meter dash title, alongside Lawson, Sey and two-time sprint medalist Ai’yana Gray-Williams on the road to the championship.
Collins marched through finals day with full confidence in her teammates to step up where they were needed. She also credited more than just herself for her stellar performance.
“I want to credit God first and foremost. I wouldn’t be here without him and he has ordained this journey,” Collins said. “And definitely my coach. He continues to believe in me when I didn’t believe in myself and show me that I can do more than I even know.”
Head Coach David Oliver took home the Most Outstanding Coach award for the fourth year in a row on the women’s side.
Oliver stressed that the women’s level of dedication is the reason why they are successful.
“It’s the hard work and dedication of the student-athletes. They make it happen,” Oliver said. “I’m not out there running, I just give the roadmap and they seem to follow it well.”
Among a slew of top finishes from sprinters, hurdlers, throwers and jumpers, Oliver credited the distance group as the biggest difference-makers for the Bison, as Crosby and freshman Mira Martin, who achieved two runner-up finishes, overtook a formerly dominant group of runners from Norfolk State.
“Mira Martin and Joslyn Crosby had to go toe-to-toe with those runners at Norfolk, and they got first and second both times, and Crosby got a third gold,” Oliver said. “[Norfolk State] thought they were going to have it under control more than likely. So they stepped up, everybody else did what they should have done. We always dominate sprints and hurdles… that’s the first time we’ve won a gold medal in a distance race.”
Following the conference meet, select athletes will head to Louisville, Kentucky for the HBCU Indoor Championships on March 7.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
