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Oct. 27, 2007
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The men of Norfolk State University had won seven straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships. They seemed poised for their eighth. The women of Hampton University won last season and were looking for their third overall title. Didn't happen. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) raced past both schools as the men and women's cross-country teams won the 2007 MEAC Championship this morning at Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach, Va. Entering the event the women seemed the favorite, placing five different runners in the top 20 of the conference all season. Still, after a fifth place finish last season they weren't a lock in anyone's mind. The men took second in 2006 and looked, based on times and performances, to finish there again. Both exceeded expectations to capture the first cross-country titles at the school in many years. UMES last won in 1995 when the men took the title for the second straight year. The women's only cross-country title came in 1983. The men also won in 1982. On the women's side Merrecia James (Portland, Jamaica/G.C. Foster) won the race to earn MEAC Outstanding Performer honors, the only Lady Hawk to do so other than 2004's winner Eva Slavikova. . James finished first in the women's race with season-best time of 18:27.7 "We knew it was important to finish among the top 15 in order to have a chance to win, said James. University of Maryland Eastern Shore head coach Ernest Barrett earned Outstanding Coach honors for both the men's and women's teams. "All season we have stressed running as a pack, as a team. We knew if we were going to win we had to have our team finish among the top 10, explained Barrett. In cross country, I stress working as a team and both teams did that today.
The Hawks won the race on the men's side scoring 45 points while the women scored 47. The largest margin of victory was for the Lady Hawks as Hampton took second scoring 84 points. Norfolk State men finished behind UMES with 56 points. Norfolk State's Dominic Luka was the men's Most Outstanding Performer. He won with a time of 25:09.2 Howard was third in both races with the men scoring 116 points and the women 89 points. Other Hawks having an outstanding meet were Betty Chumbe, who took seventh with a time of 19:26.0, Tamica Thomas who was 11th with a time of 19:38.9 and Celia Whyte who was 12th, finishing the 5K course in 19:39.9 For the men Peter Sang was the highest finisher in third place with a time of 25:39.3 while teammate Amon Kiprotich was right behind him in fourth with a time of 25:59.5. Solomon Kirongo was eighth with a time of 26:43.8 and Clayton James was 14th with a time of 27:43.3 The Hawks now take time off to enjoy their titles before running in the NCAA Regional Championships on November 10th. |
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