Norfolk
State men’s and women’s track and field teams lead after the second day of
competition at the 2011 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Outdoor Track
and Field Championships at the Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina
A&T State University.
The Norfolk
State women’s team moved into first place on day two capturing 47 total points.
The defending MEAC champion Hampton Lady Pirates are second with 39 points,
while host North Carolina A&T sit in third with 30 points.
NSU’s
Elaine Rhoades captured gold in the women’s heptathlon with 4,500 points.
Teammate Ashanti Matthews secured silver with 4,378 points while North Carolina
A&T’s Amanda Breeden took bronze with 4,355 points.
North
Carolina A&T’s Shakia Forbes opened the women’s field event winning the
long jump with a distance of 6.20m (20-04.25 ft).
Hampton
rookie Breana Norman recorded a distance of 1.75m (5-08.75 ft) in the high jump
to pick up 10 of the Lady Pirates overall point total.
UMES'
Vanessa Henry won the shot put with a 14.76m (48-05.25 ft) toss to give day
one’s leader its only first place finish of the day.
On the
men’s side the defending MEAC champion NSU Spartans picked up 34 additional
points on Friday to finish with 56 total points. Maryland Eastern Shore
currently sits in second with 39 points followed by Florida A&M in third
with 22 points.
UMES’
Jermol Dix, the reigning MEAC decathlon champion, won the event for the second
consecutive year with 6,105 points. Dix captured gold with first place finishes
in 110m hurdles, long jump, shot put, and discus.
Maryland
Eastern Shore also earned a first place finish in the shot put with Marcus
Brown throwing 16.76m (54-11.50 ft).
Florida
A&M’s Leon Hunt finished first in the long jump reaching a distance of
7.70m (25-03.25 ft). NSU’s Darris Shelton (7.70m, 25-03.25 ft) finished second
followed by teammate Rashad Cannon in third (7.69m, 25-02.75 ft).
In the last
field event of the day, NSU’s John James captured gold in the high jump with a
leap of 2.15m (7-00.50 ft).
The final
day of competition begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. with the men's and women's triple
jump, discus, pole vault and javelin. Running events will begin at 1 p.m. with
the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay. The championships will conclude with the
men's and women's 4x400m relay races beginning at 4:15 p.m.
Admission
for the 2011 MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships is free but fans can
also follow the action with live results on www.MEACsports.com.
Men’s Team Scores – through five events
1. Norfolk State 56
points
2. Maryland Eastern Shore 39
points
3. Florida A&M 22
points
4. South Carolina State 21
points
5. Hampton 18
points
6. Bethune-Cookman 13
points
7. Coppin State 10
points
8. Morgan State 7
points
9. North Carolina A&T 5
points
10. Howard 1
point
11. Delaware State 0
points
Women’s Team Scores – thru five events
1. Norfolk State 47
points
2. Hampton 39
points
3. North Carolina A&T 30
points
4. South Carolina State 26
points
5. Maryland Eastern Shore 16
points
T6. Florida A&M 13
points
T6. Morgan State 13
points
8. Delaware State 10
points
9. Coppin State 1
point
10. Bethune-Cookman 0
points