Jan. 24 Weekly Release

WELCOME BACK
Participating in his first competition since the 2017 MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championship, SC State’s Demek Kemp (Monroe, Ga.) made his presence known immediately as he posted a first-place finish (6.65) in the 60-meter dash at the Keydet Invitational in Lexington, Va. this past weekend. Kemp had to battle through three rounds of action as he finished first in the prelims (6.74) and semifinals (6.68).  He saved his best for last as his winning time of 6.65 is the seventh-fastest time in the nation while second in the MEAC. Kemp also tied the SC State school record.

MEAC ATHLETES ONCE AGAIN MAKE NATIONAL NOISE
A total of eight MEAC student-athletes (individual and relay teams) are ranked within the top 20 nationally in their respective events. Six of the eight come from the men’s side while two are from the women’s ledger.

NCAT’s Jaylan Mitchell ranks No.2 in the 60-meter while SC State’s Demek Kemp ranks seven in the event. BCU’s Quamecha Morrison ranks No. 4 in the high jump while Madeleine Akobundu of North Carolina A&T State ranks 15th in the 60-meter hurdles.
    
AGGIE MEN’S 4X400 RELAY TEAM SOARS 
The North Carolina A&T State men’s relay teams are ranked twice in the top 40 nationally. Rowe, Hamilton, Stewart, and Harding are ranked 11th for their 3:10.69 performance at the Clemson Orange and Purple Invitational. Aiken, Hamilton, Stewart, and Harding are ranked 17th with a time of 3:11:91 at the JDL College Kick-Off Classic. NCAT also leads the MEAC in the event to start the season.

FUTURE INDICATOR, PAST PERFORMANCE
One good way to see which team may have a strong shot to make noise in the MEAC race is to take a look at the cross country results from the fall. Norfolk State won this year’s cross country title for the men while Florida A&M captured first on the women’s side. In distance events, which constitutes a significant chunk of points in both indoor and outdoor championships, both teams feature student-athletes amongst the top runners nationally. 

FRESH FACES
The future of MEAC track is strong as several freshmen are having strong campaigns in their first season on the track. North Carolina A&T State’s Trevor Stewart ranks 18th nationally in the 400 while Morgan State’s Keon Rantin ranks 50th in the 200. On the women’s side, Infinnatie Rowe of Morgan State ranks 52nd in the 800.

ROARING BACK
Backed by four first place finishes, the Morgan State men’s indoor track & field team captured the team title at the Terrapin Invitational last Saturday at the Prince George’s County Sports Complex in Landover, Md. MSU has won back-to-back meets in consecutive weekends.


PIRATING ALONG SLOWLY
Hampton has quietly put together a solid indoor season as both teams had strong outings on Jan. 19-20 at a pair of meets.

The  Hampton men took fourth at VMI and took home three first place finishes at Christopher Newport while the women won multiple titles at CNU.

DEACON OF THROWS
Coppin State junior Kristen Deacon was victorious in the weight throw for the third-straight meet and once again recorded a personal-record with a toss of 17.74m (58’ 2.5”) at the Terrapin Invitational.  

ROUNDING INTO FORM
Norfolk State’s Martha Bissah took first place in the 1,000 meters for a second consecutive meet and ran a personal-best in the 400 last weekend at VMI.