LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
NCAA sprint queen Cambrea Sturgis of North Carolina A&T announced via Instagram Monday that she is leaving the Aggies to pursue a career as a professional.
First of all I want to thank GOD for the opportunities and experience for taking me this far. I want to thank my family and friends for always supporting me and helping. I want to thank Coach Ross and the rest of the NCAT Track and Field coaching staff, as well as my teammates.
I will never forget the great memories and my time as an Aggie.
With that being said I’m glad to announce that I will be ending my collegiate career and pursuing a professional career in Track and Field with adidas.
Sturgis, a 5-7 sophomore from Kannapolis, N. C., won both the 100 and 200 meters at the NCAA Div. I championships in Eugene, Oregon in mid-June. She failed to qualify however for the finals in either event at the U. S. Olympic Trials a week later (June 18-27) at the same venue.
Her NCAA winning times in the 100 (10.74) and 200 meters (22.12) opened eyes about her potential at the professional level.
The 100 meters time, run with a 2.2 mph tail wind, was the fastest NCAA all-weather time in history. It was the 11th fastest 100 time in women’s history.
In the U.S., her 22.12 200 time was one-hundredth of a second behind She’Carri Richardson’s national best of 22.11 and was the fourth best time in NCAA history.
Had she matched her wind-aided 100 meters time run at the NCAAs, she would have made the Olympic team. The since disqualified Richardson won the Olympic Trials in 10.86.
Sturgis won the 100 in 11.03 seconds and the 200 meters in 22.88 and ran a leg on the winning 4×100 meter relay women’s squad at the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Outdoor championships in May.
The Lady Aggies scored an MEAC record 290 points in winning their third outdoor title in four years.
Sturgis single-handedly scored 20 points for the Lady Aggies for her 100 and 200 meter wins (10 points each) at the NCAA championships. She was also part of the 4×100 relay team that finished third and added another six points. The 26 points were key in the Lady Aggies 31 points that tied for fourth at the NCAAs with Alabama. It was the highest finish ever for an HBCU.
That set up more outstanding performances for Sturgis at the NCAA East Regionals at the University of North Florida where she ran 10.92 in the 100 and 22.26 in the 200. The 100 time was a personal best and broke Richardson’s facility record. The 200 time was also a personal best. Both times were second best entering the NCAA championships in Eugene.
She made it to the semifinals of both the 100 and 200 meters at the Olympic Trials. She ran 11.05 in the semifinals of the 100 meters, finishing .03 of a second from making the finals. Her 22.68 in the 200 semifinals was .23 of a second from the finals in that event.
Last month, Sturgis was named the Southeast Region Women’s Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).