Delaware State senior Nekisha Franklin and Norfolk State freshman Vincent Rono were chosen as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Track and Field Athletes of the Week, the league announced on Thursday.
Franklin (Sprinter, Sr., Brooklyn, New York) shattered her own meet record with a time of 24.23 in the 200m dash at the Great Dane Classic. Franklin’s time ranks first in the MEAC this season and topped last year’s mark of 24.39. She also took second place in the 55m dash with a time of 7.04. Franklin’s victories led to 18 individual points and helped her team to a top ten finish out of 30 schools.
Rono (Distance, Fr., Bomet, Kenya) set a school indoor record with a time of 14:33.14 in the 5000m at the Hampton Invitational. He captured the gold and finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of his closest competition. Rono also competed in the 3000m race and finished fourth with a time of 9:08.45.
Other Top Performers:
Cynthia Anais (UMES) helped her team to a first-place finish in the distance medley race with a time of 12:15.84 at the Great Dane Classic.
Natoya Baird (CSU) finished in the top 10 in 3-of-4 events, including the high jump (5-4.25 ft.), long jump (17-00 ft.), and triple jump (38-07.50 ft.), at the Hampton Invitational.
James Blocker (NCAT) tied a meet record of 2.16m (7-01 ft.) to win the high jump at the Great Dane Classic. He also placed sixth in the long jump with a 6.97m (22-10.50 ft) leap.
Julius Coleman (CSU) won the 800m with a time of 1:56.68 and ran the second leg of the 4x800m relay team that captured the gold with a time of 7:46.90 at the Hampton Invitational.
Damon Dixon (HAM) totaled 4,928 points to win the heptathlon at the Hampton Invitational.
Allodin Fothergill (UMES) set a meet record with a time of 47.46 in the 400m dash at the Great Dane Invite.
Tanisha Kendrick (MSU) captured the 500m dash with a time of 1:14.56 and aided her team to a first-place finish in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:49.01 at the Great Dane Classic.
Francena McCorory (HAM) earned two individual titles in the 200m (24.29) and 400m (55.79) and a third-place finish in the 60m dash (7.52) at the Hampton Invitational.
Leslie Murray (DSU) won the 500m with a time of 1:03.47 and took home third-place honors in the long jump with a 7.19m (23-07.23 ft.) leap at the Great Dane Classic.
Lonnie Phifer (NCAT) won the shot put with a 16.80m (55-01.50 ft.) toss at the Hampton Invitational.
Katie Wright (NSU) cleared 3.25m (10-8 ft.) to earn a second-place finish at the UNC Classic.