Fly Girls
TF2K24: Track & Field Stars to Watch
It has become tradition over the past few seasons for collegiate track and field athletes to take over on Instagram as they show off their media day photos (see the cover picture). As we prepare for the indoor season, let's take a look at the first installment of our women's track and field preview series, "Fly Girls."
Cristal Cuervo - Towson
A native of Clayton, Panama City, Panama, Cristal Cuervo is back for her third collegiate season. She qualified and competed in her first east regional meet last season as a participant in the 200 meters. She scored two bronze medals at the CAA Outdoor meet. Cuervo ran a time of 23.96 in a third-place finish during the open 200 meters. Her other top three-finish came as one fourth of the 400-meter relay squad. Cuervo ran the second leg while teaming with Ty'Liyah Hannah, Sydney Tucker and Maya Tucker. The Panamaian followed that meet with a first-place effort in the 200 meters (23.29) at the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She also collected one other bronze for the season, placing third in the 100 meters at 11.75.
Jadyn Haywood - Dayton
The hometown sophomore is back after a successful rookie campaign. Jadyn Haywood, started her career with a bronze medal win in the 60 meters at the Atlantic 10 indoor meet. During outdoor season she grabbed another bronze in the 200 meters as she ran her best legal time of her career at 24.42. This season she should have a dominant showing in the 100 meters as well. Haywood just missed medaling, placing fourth last season in the Atlantic 10 final.
Kyra Buffen - Eastern Michigan
A native of Columbus, Georgia, Kyra Buffen competed in her first season at Eastern Michigan after previously jumping for Benedict. Buffen earned two wins as an Eagle. The first was an indoor triple jump victory at the Notre Dame Invitational where she landed at 12.20 meters. The next was an outdoor first place finish at the Golden Grizzley Track & Field Invite where she hit a mark of 11.74 meters. Buffen closed her season as a finalist in the triple jump and long jump at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships.
Camiyah James - Cincinnati
After starting at Central Michigan, Camiyah James returned to her hometown to jump for the Cincinnati Bearcats last season. James had a challenging year as she and many of her teammates fought the injury bug. She participated in five meets during indoor season, with her best long jump mark of 5.46 meters coming at the Music City Challenge, held at Vanderbilt. During outdoor season James jumped in just two meets with a career best mark of 5.55 meters at the Clark Wood Open at Louisville. She and the Bearcats will see a rise in competition as they've left the American Athletic Conference for the Big 12.
Tionna Brown - Florida A&M
Now on her third stop, Tionna Brown brings All-American and championship pedigree to Florida A&M. Returning to the SWAC, Brown was a seven-time conference champ as a freshman during the 2021 season when she ran for Alabama State. Brown sprinted to 60 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay gold medals during the 2021 SWAC indoor meet. She captured outdoor golds in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay. During her time at LSU from 2022 to 2023, she won an SEC championship in the 400-meter relay with Alia Armstrong, Favour Ofili and Thelma Davies. Brown won first team All-American honors as part of that unit.
This feature is brought to you by the Track God Digital Hall of Fame, available on TikTok. Click the link below to see the inductees.
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