Charlotte’s Chin-Loy Raymond Tosses A School Record At The 2026 NCAA Track And Field Games
Chin-Loy Raymond marked her NCAA East First Round debut with a school-record toss in the women’s shot put, leading a strong set of performances from Charlotte’s women on the second day of the 2026 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Track and Field East First Round at the University of Kentucky Track and Field Facility.
Having previously set a personal best of 15.76m (51’8.5″) in the shot put earlier this season, Raymond capped off her first year with the Niners with a monster effort of 16.28m (53’5″) on her second attempt of the day. Thursday’s outing saw the junior not only eclipse the previous program-best of 16.07m (52’8.75″) set back in 2024 but also become just the second female at Charlotte to notch a throw over 16.00m after Patience Marshall.
Raymond finished 23rd among the field in the women’s shot put, a jump of 14 spots after entering her first NCAA postseason at the Division I level seeded 37/48. Teammate Kayla Davis-Edwards, who came in seeded at 48th, also rose by double-digits Thursday after placing 36th thanks to a throw of 15.28m (50’1.75″)
Shot put wasn’t the only event where a pair of 49ers improved upon their projections entering the day, as both Amaya Hopkins and Alinah Sarratt climbed several spots in the 400H during the evening. Hopkins, who finished 42nd in the event at NCAA First Round last year and arrived in Kentucky seeded 30th, clocked a season-best time of 58.16 to place 25th; the junior barely missed the cut to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinal, falling achingly short of the final qualifier by just .11 of a second.
Making the field in 48th as an injury replacement following the initial announcement of the qualifying field last week, Sarratt would place 41st on the day after crossing the line at 59.76 in her first NCAA postseason appearance.
Sarah Pullium placed 32nd in the women’s hammer throw amidst a loaded field, her best throw of the day coming in at 57.73m (198’5″) to begin day two for the Green and White.
LOOKING AHEAD: DAY THREE
The trio of Gates Hinton, Junior Payton-Kimble, and Jahnaul Ritzie kickstart day three for Charlotte in the afternoon, all competing in the men’s discus at 1:00 p.m. The men’s 4x400m relay team of Tal Hamel, Chase Harrison, Jordan Polk-Webb, and Michael Rice Jr. (with Tajauni Elliott as an alternate) is set to follow at 8:45 p.m., the current program record-holders looking to make a mark in the quartet’s NCAA postseason debut.