PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland - With her final jump at the Armory last Friday (Jan. 11), University of Maryland Eastern Shore freshman Atinuke Shittu (Germantown, Maryland) became the first Hawk to punch her ticket to the IC4A/ECAC Championships. Overall the team placed sixth at the HBCU Battle in Manhattan before competing in Saturday's (Jan. 12) Great Dane Classic, where there was no team scoring.

Shittu finished her jumping run with a distance of 11.60 meters to place second, earning eight points for the Hawks. She steadily increased her jump, achieving the mark in jump number six. The distance is also good for a qualification to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships in February. The IC4A/ECAC Championship will be held in Boston in early March.

Several Hawks earned top ten placements at the HBCU Battle as well. Sophomore Shemar Parker (Wilmington, Delaware) and freshman Mercy Chemutai (Eldoret, Kenya) finished with runner up performances. Parker completed a mark of 3.80 meters in the pole vault and will join Shittu at MEAC's. Chemutai earned a time of 11:20.08 in the 3K, finishing 20 seconds shy of the conference qualifying standard.

Junior John Akakeya (Staten Island, New York) took home third in the men's mile while freshman Joshua Goslee (Salisbury, Maryland) finished right behind Parker in the pole vault. Sophomore Jessica Roney (Windsor Mill, Maryland) joins the men's duo as a top five finisher thanks to a fifth place showing in the 500 meter run.

Four of The Shore's top ten marks came from the men's throwers. Freshman Nasir Neal-Watson (Salisbury, Maryland) was responsible for two of them with a seventh place effort in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw. Junior Tamunoibi Dabipi (Salisbury, Maryland) finished sixth in the weight throw and sophomore Kyle Nottage (Waldorf, Maryland) placed ninth in the shot put.

Additional top ten finishers were freshmen Janiela Francis (Kingston, Jamaica), Tremaine Brown (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Nikyia Wooten (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Jelisa Lovett (Iselin, New Jersey) and Ashley Woolfork (Salisbury, Maryland).

On Saturday, the Hawks added a ninth place finish at the Great Dane Classic. The men's 4x400 relay team made up of freshman Omar Rogers (Brooklyn, New York), sophomore Janoi Brown (Randallstown, Maryland), Tremaine Brown and sophomore Ngoy Yamitshi (Germantown, Maryland) ran the race in 3:27.53.

Maryland Eastern Shore will return to the track in two weeks with a meet at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.