Coppin men tied for 2nd, women tied for 7th at MEAC Track & Field Championships

The Coppin State Men's Track & Field team earned 111.5 points to tie for 2nd overall with Howard at the MEAC Track & Field Championships at Norfolk State this past weekend. Picture by Keith Henry

by Keith Henry

NORFOLK, VA- For a team that doesn’t have enough manpower, Coppin State did their very best with what and who they have. The Eagles men made so much noise at Dick Price Stadium that the MEAC had to notice as their score of 111.5 points were enough to finish in a tie for second with Howard in the MEAC Track and Field Championships on the campus of Norfolk State University. The Lady Eagles finished in a tie for seventh place with Maryland-Eastern Shore with 25 points.

Coppin State head coach Carl Hicks said about the men, “A great group of guys who laid it on the line this weekend. They knew what was at stake. It came down to the final race to get that second spot and the guys came through.”

For the men, it started with an elite effort from Coppin State senior Andrew Betton. Through some delays and such, Betton found a way to not only win the men’s decathlon, but he broke the conference record in the event with 6,697 points. Betton also placed fifth in the men’s open high jump as well.

In the sprint events, Coppin did some serious damage this past weekend. The duo of senior Solomon Hammond and redshirt senior Carl Drakes were excellent. They won the gold and silver in the men’s 100-meter dash, plus silver and bronze in the 200-meter dash respectively. Along with juniors Christopher Adekoya and Cole Schlotterbeck, they won the men’s 4x100-meter relay in 39.84 seconds. Senior Daniel Cunningham placed fourth in the men’s 400-meter dash. Senior Jarrett Gentles won the bronze in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.

In the men’s 800-meter run, senior Etiam Torgbenu won the gold in a season best 1:53.07 seconds. Torgbenu was followed by senior Jayeed Norbal who placed fourth and junior Asa Francis who finished fifth in the event. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Humed Nura placed fifth. Nura came up huge late as he placed seventh in the 5,000-meter run to put Coppin in position for their second place finish. Sophomore Whisper Shikwa placed eighth in the men’s 10,000-meter run.

In the field events, Coppin did their fair share of damage. Starting with senior Jeff Hammond who overcame injury issues to win the silver in the long jump and will be heading to the NCAA East preliminary rounds at North Florida. His leap of 25 feet, one and a quarter inch placed him on the medal stand.

In the men’s javelin, junior Alexander Dobson-Honablue placed fourth in the event with his first throw of 160 feet, nine inches.

 

Kyah Lafortune hands off the baton to Halutie Hor during the women's 4x400 meter relay at the MEAC Track & Field Championships at Norfolk State this past weekend. Picture by Keith Henry

 

As for the women, injuries may have decimated the numbers for the Lady Eagles. However, they stepped up when their names were called. Hicks said, “They all showed up. Even though we were decimated all year long with injuries, they came through every day. They went to work every day and worked hard. I look forward to them next year doing some great things.”

All their points came on the track led by freshman Kyah Lafortune. Lafortune clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter dash. Senior Halutie Hor placed seventh in the event. In the 400-meter dash, Lafortune placed seventh. In the 100-meter dash, Hor finished sixth overall. Lafortune, Hor along with senior Gifty Oku and sophomore Benidicta Kwartemaa won the silver medal in the women’s 4x100-meter relay in 45 seconds flat. Junior Tracey Riley along with Oku, Lafortune and Hor placed fifth in the women’s 4x400-meter relay.

Next for Coppin is a trip to Jacksonville, Florida for the NCAA East Regionals hosted by the University of North Florida on May 28-31.