NORFOLK, Va., April 27, 2022—Howard graduate student Dylan Beard was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, presented by Coca-Cola, and Howard senior Melanie White was selected as Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced today. Morgan State senior Kobe-Jordan Rhooms was named Men’s Field Athlete of the Week, while Howard junior Erin Hatcher earned Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors.
 
Beard (Gr., Severn, Md.) ranks eighth in the nation in the 110-meter hurdles after winning the event at the Morgan State Legacy Meet this past weekend. His 13.55 is the best time in the MEAC so far this season and it tied the program record in that event.
 
White (Sr., Orlando, Fla.) posted the MEAC’s best time so far this season in the 800 meters, finishing second in the Morgan State Legacy Meet with a 2:12.88.
 
Rhooms (Sr., Montego Bay, Jamaica) won both the long jump and the triple jump at the Morgan State Legacy Meet, and he now ranks No. 25 in the nation in the triple jump with a MEAC-best 15.70 meters (51 feet, 6.25 inches). He leaped 7.52 meters (24 feet, 8.25 inches) in winning the long jump, which ranks second in the conference.
 
Hatcher (Jr., Burtonsville, Md.) won the hammer throw at the Hopkins-Loyola Invitational, tossing the implement 51.42 meters (168 feet, 8 inches) to rank second in the MEAC.
 
Other Top Performers
Latifa Ali (Coppin State) won the 100 meters (11.59) and came in second in the 200 meters (23.55) at the Morgan State Legacy Meet.
 
Jeff Hammond (Coppin State) leaped 7.52 meters to come in second in the long jump at the Morgan State Legacy Meet.
 
Joseph Manu (Coppin State) won the 200 meters (21.11) and came in second in the 100 meters (10.22) at the Morgan State Legacy Meet.
 
Mekhi Abbott (Howard) set the MEAC’s best mark in the javelin throw, winning the event at the Hopkins-Loyola Invitational with a distance of 59.62 meters.
 
Anthony Franklin (Norfolk State) established a personal best in the 200 meters, turning in a 20.77 at the Virginia Challenge to finish third.
 
Marvin Jones (North Carolina Central) won the high jump at the Aggie Classic, clearing 2.06 meters.
 
Jada Banks (South Carolina State) set a new school record in the 3,000 meters, coming in fifth with a 10:25.18 at the South Carolina Open.
 
Brenton Shippy (South Carolina State) came in second in the 100 meters at the South Carolina Open with a personal-best 10.26.