March 23, 2008

Complete Results

WAKE FOREST, N.C. - Building on a solid Indoor Track & Field season the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) kept the momentum going, running and performing with some of the top programs in the country in their first outdoor meet of the season at the Wake Forest Open. There was no team scoring but the Hawks kept pace with some of the best preformers in the region.

The freshmen were dominating for the Hawks. On the men's side Corey Alexander, Paul Jones-Burden, Thomas Keane-Dawes, Amon Kiprotich, and Dexter Miller all were solid performers in their first outdoor collegiate meet. Alexander and Miller ran the 400-meter dash Friday afternoon clocking 49.88 and 49.60 respectively. Miller and Keane-Dawes both had a good showing in the 100-meter dash running 11.22 and 11.31 respectively. They both came back in the 200-meters with Miller running 22.43, Keane-Dawes running 22.56 and Jones-Burden running 22.71. Kiprotich ran 4:10.94 in the 1500-meter run. The final run of the day would prove the most exciting as four freshmen led by Miller took center stage during the 4x400 meter relay. The exchange of Miller to Jones-Burden to Keane-Dawes to Alexander proved success as they propelled themselves past North Carolina to take forth place with a 3:13.97 finish.

Other news on the men's side included Allodin Fothergill in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. His 100-meter preliminary time of 10.64 was just shy of the regional qualifying time of 10.55. He ended up placing eighth with a time of 10.82 in the finals. In the other race his time of 21.19 in the 200-meter dash earned him his ticket to the NCAA regional meet by qualifying way under the standard of 21.35. In the 800-meters Clayton James ran 1:55.10 coming in the top 20 out of field of 120 competitors. Peter Sang came across the line second in the 3,000 meter steeple chase with a time of 9:22.10. With this time he looks to be well in reach of Barnabas Togom's school record of 9:19.94. James Moore and Jamahl Strachan took fourth and fifth in the high jump, both jumping 1.97 meters.

On the women's side the freshmen were also lighting up the competition. The freshman that led the way were Rashida Beckford, Danai Lendor, Joycelyn Wheeler, and Tiona Long. Beckford set a new personal record for herself in the high jump tying for second overall with a jump of 1.63 meters. Lendor ran 1:04 in the 400-meter hurdles which placed her in the top ten with the likings of Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech. Wheeler and Long proved to be a good tandem of freshman throwers as they competed in just about every throwing event there was at the Wake Forest Open. Wheeler had an 11.80 meter shot put throw while Long's was 11.79. Both competed in the Javelin for the first time as Wheeler's throw was 25.88 meters and Long's was 21.50 meters. Long also participated in the discus, throwing a distance of 37.05 meters.

Those performances were just the beginning. Standouts such as Tanisha Wisdom, Merrecia James, and Saisha Woodward would all shine as the veteran performers of the Lady Hawks. Wisdom ran ahead of the pack to a preliminary leading 11.90 in the 100-meter dash, but after a grueling day of competition fell back to 12.01 and a third place overall finish. Sherie Brown ran a time of 25.30 in the 200-meter dash and placed 23rd out of 96 competitors. Celia Whyte placed ninth with a time of 57.11 in the 400 meter dash.

Merrecia James led a contention of Hawks in the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter runs, in which she received eighth and third place respectively. James along with Whyte and Tamica Thomas ran the 1500 with times of 4:38.90, 4:51.42, and 4:57.63 respectively. James then ran with Thomas, Betty Chumbe, and Janeth Chelangat in the 5,000-meter run with times of 17:49.56, 18:50.48, 19:24.74, and 19:29.02 respectively. All four of the 5,000 meter runners qualified for the MEAC outdoor championships.

Saisha Woodward has quietly been putting up great numbers the entire 2008 season. At her first MEAC Championship she captured bronze and since arriving at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has been one of the unsung standouts of the program. Out of 42 athletes in the shot put Woodward placed fifth in her first outdoor meet with a throw of 13.24 meters. In the discus she placed eleventh with a 40.34 meter throw, and in the javelin she placed twelfth with a throw of 34.19 meters.

The athletes continue their quest for outdoor MEAC titles next weekend at the Charlotte Invitational. In four cross-country/indoor track and field championships so far this season UMES has taken three first places. They hope to build on their successes in the conference and at the Wake Forest meet and they head back to North Carolina for their next competition on March 29.