Two members of North Carolina A&T’s national championship 4×400 relay team punched their tickets to the Olympics. Sophomore Randolph Ross Jr. and graduate student Trevor Stewart punched their tickets to Tokyo by finishing third and fourth at the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
The other two members of the team were already set to head to Tokyo. Akeem Sirleaf will represent Liberia and Daniel Stokes will compete for Mexico.
“The father came out in me,” Duane Ross, Director of Track and Field Programs at NCAT, said about his son. “For him to do something at this level, at his age, he had me in tears.”
Ross Jr. finished third in the men’s 400-meter final at the Trials with a time of 44.74. The top-three finishers of the finals earn a trip to the Olympics to compete in that particular event.
COVID-19 prevented Ross Jr. from competing at the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships after he came on to the collegiate scene to run the fastest 400m indoor time in the world as a freshman. The NCAA’s 2020 outdoor season was canceled entirely because of the pandemic along with the 2020 Olympics.
He returned for his sophomore season and led the Aggies to the 4×400 indoor national championship while finishing second nationally in the indoor 400m.
At the Trials, Ross Jr. finished with the third-fastest qualifying time in the 400m first round before finishing with the second-fastest time in the semifinals.
“I got support and inspiration from my family,” said Ross Jr. about making the Olympics. “My dad and I have been getting ready for this moment. I’ve been training for it all year. I have had a couple of great moments in college, but this is the moment everyone trains for, waits for; it has just been all about determination.”
As a top-6 finisher in the 400m final, Stewart is also headed overseas. Stewart finished fourth with a time of 44.90 as he earned a spot with the 4×400 team.
“I was ecstatic. I’ve trained so long and so hard to reach this goal,” Stewart told WUSA9 News. “Ranking that high after running the NCAA’s the week prior. We didn’t have any time to rest.”
“I’ve never heard of any other college, let alone an HBCU that has their whole relay going to the Olympics and competing against each other. This is a big deal.” said Stewart.
A native of Lorton, Virginia, Stewart said he believes local support got him to where he is right now.
“There were so many people that believe in me. It feels good,” he said. “It’s really going to hit me that I’ve done something. I’m going to look up and see the lights. I’m going to know it’s going to be time to perform.”
The Aggies have their first Olympians since Troy Douglas and Ruth Morris participated in the Olympics in 1992.
The 2021 Tokyo Olympics start on July 23 and end on August 8.
