The season opened on a high-note for Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) men's and women's track and field team. Competing in a field full of the regions top programs at all three divisions, UMES stood out, posting top marks in many events at the Wake Forest Open, held at Kentner Stadium, to open the 2010 outdoor track and field season.
Cynthia Anais was the benchmark for the women, taking first place in the 800 meter run. Anais posted a time 2:11.71 in a field of 113 runners. The Lady Hawks were well represented in one their signature events as Eunice Jones (2:13.85) and Emille Ducados (2:14.24) took fifth and sixth respectively. The MEAC shined as a whole in the event as Howard's Jami Hardy took second. Anais and Hardy toped runners from powers Penn and Wake Forest who were third and fourth.
Anais also posted a top 20 performance in the 1,500 meter run. In a field of 118 runners Anais turned in a time of 4:44.82. Duke University took 14 of the top 19 spots in the event.
Akheem Gauntlett was sensational in the men's 100 meter dash, besting the 78 runner field with a time of 10.50. A personal best, the time is better thatn any Hawk ran all of last season. The Eastern Shore was well represented in the event as Salisbury University's DIII All-American Delannie Spriggs took second behind Gautlett with a time of 10.53. Gauntlet qualified ninth in the event but blistered the finals for the win.
Thomas Keane-Dawes was also blistering the Wake Forest track. He took third overall in the 400 meter dash behind runners from ACC powers North Carolina and Wake Forest. Keane-Dawes posted a time of 47.30 in the 106 man field. Charles Cox of UNC won with a time of 46.17, a little over a second ahead of Keane-Dawes.
Keane-Dawes also posted a 14th place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.80. He was bested however by teammate Damian Miles who took eighth with a time of 21.51. His time was just one tenth of a second off his personal best. Seven of the top 14 spots were claimed by MEAC schools.
In the distance races Basil Melek took 12th in his outdoor debut for the Hawks. He ran a time of 15:10.72 in the 5000 meter run.
In hurdles, Johan Welter took fourth in the 400 meter hurdles. Welter ran and jumped to a time of 53.35 in a 63-man field. Also hurdling well for UMES was Jermol Dix who took tenth in the 110-meter hurdles(15.00). Dix bested his previous mark of 15.61, set last year at the Morgan State meet. That time also bested any ran in the 110-meter hurdles all of last season. Welter qualified 12th in the 55 man field (15.09) but ran outside of the top ten in the finals.
In other women's events, Melina Gallas took seventh in the 100 meter dash in a field of 78 runners. She breezed through in a time of 12.44. Gallas also posted seventh in the 400 meter dash in a time of 56.85. Monique Hawkins ran ninth in the same event with a time of 57.13. Both scored top 10 marks in a field of 84.
UMES' women's relay teams were solid, posting a top 10 finish in the 4 x 100 meter relay with a time of 48.51. The MEAC again took four of the top ten spots in the 24 team field. In the 4x400 meter relay UMES shined, posting a second place finish, trailing only North Carolina. They posted a 3:51.01, less than five seconds behind the Tarheels.
Not to be outdone the men's relay team in the 4 x 100 would win in a time of 40.37. They topped the 16 team field which included Duke, Penn, VCU and MEAC rivals Norfolk State, North Carolina Central, Howard and Winston-Salem State.
On the field side of the stadium Vanessa Henry took second in the shot put. Henry threw 14.65 meters in the 51 woman field. The MEAC again shined with North Carolina A&T's senior Jerrine Foster taking first with a throw of 14.91 meters, just .26 meters more than the sophomore Henry. Foster would go on to win the discus as well while Henry took 14th with a throw of 36.08 meters in the 48 woman field.
In men's field events David Sandiford took eighth in the long jump out of 43 entrants. He leapt a distance of 6.85 meters. Sandiford would also post a fifth place finish in the high jump with a height of 1.82 meters.
In the throws Marcus Brown would toss the shot 15.06 meters to take ninth place out of 43 men in the shot put finals. That toss shatters the distance thrown by a Hawk last season of 9.32 meters. He would also finish 16th out of 44 throwers in the discus with a toss of 42.33 meters. Those tosses best those by the Hawks from last season.
UMES returns to North Carolina next week at the Raleigh Relays, March 26 & 27.