BALTIMORE – Coppin State junior Melissa Caddle-Hope will compete in the World Indoor Championship this weekend at the ERGO Arena in Sopot, Poland.

Caddle-Hope, one of the top sprinters in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will compete for her native country of Guyana in the 400-meter run. Her first race will be Friday, March 7 at 4:05 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. If she advances to the finals of the 400-meter dash, she would run at 1:20 p.m. Saturday in the finals.

“This is wonderful opportunity for Melissa and Coppin State University,” head women’s track and field coach Alecia Shields-Gadson said. “She’s an outstanding scholar-athlete, which makes this opportunity even better. Melissa has worked hard and been dedicated to our program. This is a nice reward for her and we’re excited to see her compete against the world’s best athletes.”

Caddle-Hope has enjoyed a decorated career for the Eagles so far. Caddle-Hope owns three indoor school records in the 60-meter dash (7.46 seconds), 200-meter dash (24.30) and 400-meter dash (53.08). All of those marks broke school standards that had stood for at least 10 years. 

This season, she finished third in the 400-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash at the MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships last month. She also helped the 4 x 400-meter relay team finish third overall. Her fastest time this indoor season was achieved last weekend when she ran 53.54 seconds in winning the 400-meter run at the George Mason Last Chance Meet.

As a sophomore, she won the MEAC indoor and was second in the outdoor championship in the 400-meter run. She finished 21st overall in the quarterfinals of the 400 meters at the 2013 NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary Championships.