NORFOLK, Virginia – The Maryland Eastern Shore track and field squads headed back from Virginia with some hardware following the Norfolk State Invitational, with Janoi Brown and Jahlahnee Watkins being two of the top performers at the 13-team meet, taking one and two in the men's 400m.
 
"I am pleased with the performances overall, we needed this boost as a group as we've been struggling this year balancing the effects of Covid and injuries," head coach Damion Drummond said. "I believe the multiple speeches are starting to kick in and the members are starting to believe in themselves now that they're executing."
 
It was the second time that Brown has run the 400m this season, first at the Weems Baskin Relays where he took first with a 48.27, this time he topped that mark with a 47.68 effort. For Watkins, it was his first race of the spring, last competing at the IC4A/ECAC Indoor Championships where he ran a 48.11, he improved this time to a 48.07.
 
On the women's side, Atinuke Shittu was the winner of the triple jump with a 12.10m go, giving her back-to-back wins in the event after taking first at the Del State Sting.
 
Several other Hawks had solid showings over the weekend, including hurdler Spencer Settle. The freshman set two personal records in the 100H and in the 400H, which she took second in with a 1:01.63.
 
In the 3000 steeplechase, Edwin Kipruto took third with his 10:33.71 race, improving by nearly 30 seconds since he ran the event at Weems Baskin. Josh Goslee also took third in his event, the pole vault, with a 3.95m leap.
 
With a new personal record of 47.23m in the hammer throw, James Perkins was good enough for third place behind a pair of Howard student-athletes.
 
Nasir Neal-Watson nearly took third in the shot put with a 15.54m throw but was .07m short of tying and went home with fourth – he also placed fifth in the discus with a 44.67m toss.
 
The Hawks get one more good look at Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competition on Saturday (April 23) when they head to Baltimore to compete in the Morgan State Legacy meet. Following that trip, the Shore will go to one of the most historic meets in the world, the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
 
"This weekend served as a pre-conference matchup since Norfolk State will host the conference championships and we saw the majority of the MEAC programs today," Drummond said.
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @eshawkstfxc.