Feb. 17, 2006
PRINCESS ANNE, MD - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) indoor track and field team will look to finish strong in this weekend's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships on Feb. 17-18. The Championships, held at the Prince George's County Sports and Learning Complex (Landover, MD), will feature all 11 MEAC institutions.
The UMES women's team, searching for their first indoor title, will look to dethrone defending champion Hampton while the men's squad will challenge Florida A&M (FAMU) for their first title in nine years.
The Fighting Hawks will be without the services of defending MEAC Indoor Shot Put Champion Kimani Kirton due to an injury, but UMES still looks for strong performances from several other Hawks. On the men's side, the maroon and gray holds nine top spots in the MEAC rankings this season. At the top of the list are juniors Dwayne Robinson and Ronnie Beard. The duo was ranked sixth and 15th, respectively, in the NCAA 60M Hurdle Rankings on Feb. 1. Robinson qualified provisionally this season for the NCAA Regional Championships in the 60m hurdles after he ran a personal best 7.83 at the Coach O Invite while Beard set a new personal record and provisionally qualified for NCAA Regionals with his time of 7.88 in the 60m hurdles on Jan. 27. Robinson and Beard are ranked first and second, respectively, in the MEAC for this event.
William McCollough is ranked fourth in the conference for his time of 48.39 (400m) that he posted at the Penn State Open on Jan. 28. Clayton James holds fifth place for his 1:54.42 (800m) finish at Kent State on Jan. 1 while Jason Daley holds the top conference spot in the long jump with his 7.71m (25-03.50 ft) first-place finish at the Lid Lifter Invite on Dec. 10. Mikel Thomas is amongst the MEAC leaders in the 200m after finishing his event in 21.61 seconds at the St. Valentine's Invite.
The Lady Hawks are led by several newcomers. Danieth Pryce holds two spots among the MEAC's top five finishers with her times in the 60m dash (7.47) and the 200m (24.60). In distance, Janeth Chelangat is ranked fifth in the 3000m (10:53.14). The distance medley team of Chelangat, Neda Khalili, Sherie Brown and Kathare Mundit rank fourth overall in the conference. Petagay O'Connor is among the best in the MEAC for her 12.45m (40-10.25 ft) leap in the triple jump at the Penn State Open while Dionne Wright leads the conference with her 14.47m mark in the shot put. Wright won the event at the Coach O Invite.
This year marks the 25th MEAC indoor track and field championship for the men and women dating back to 1981 when South Carolina State captured the first title for the men and Howard captured the first title for the women.
Admission for the MEAC indoor track & field championship is $5 dollars for adults and $3 dollars for children, students, and senior citizens per day. Tickets may be purchased the day of the event.
